The Marauders and the SwanChildren of Lir
by typin' paw
Summary: The first year at Hogwarts is exciting enough, even without a gender-confused dog causing mayhem or the Dark Lord rising to power. But things are really starting to get out of hand when the mysterious Swan-Children appear...
1. Prologue

_**A/N:** Hello, my puppies. Let's start a new story together. This one is about- well, I'm sure you've read the summary, so what am I telling you? This is actually planned to be quite a long story about the Marauders' first year of school. I'll try to be as accurate as possible but since this is an adventure story I hope you won't mind if I throw in some of my own ideas (like the oh so mysterious Swan-Children - who will have their appearance soon). Please let me know what you think of it. It sure helps the writing when you know it's appreciated XD_

_The first chapter is the Prologue (which could actually be considered as the sequel to _The Adventures of Little Moony Mooncalf_). I know it's hard but please be patient and give Abby a chance. Our heroes have their appearance soon enough. :-)_

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own a thing - apart from my beloved Swan-Children. You'll see *smirks*!_

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**Prologue**

Sunday morning, 6:25.

As always, Abby woke exactly five minutes before her alarm clock went off. Yawning hugely, she rolled over in her far-too-big-for-only-one-person bed and found herself staring into the infinite vastness of Hugo's enormous nostrils. She grimaced, grabbed him by the neck and threw him out of her bedroom.

"For the umpteenth time, Hugo, you _wait_ until I'm ready!" she growled, throwing the door in his face. She hated it when he sat on her bed – _her_ bed. A habit he'd picked up from _him_. _He_ had always been the good guy, the one who was understanding, the one you could always turn to, the one who allowed Hugo on the bed, the one who kissed her like no other…the one who had broken her heart and shattered her life into tiny pieces.

She stretched a little while she drew back the curtains. A magnificent sunrise painted itself onto the storm-grey sky and she felt her bad mood evaporate. Apart from having to get up, morning was her favourite time of day. She threw on a clean T-shirt and a not-so-clean pair of jeans and went over to the old mirror that hung on the door of her wardrobe. The light coming from outside was just enough to see her reflexion. She pulled her long, blond hair up into a ponytail without bothering to comb it first. Her eyes looked a little red from what she could tell but she guessed people wouldn't even recognise her anymore without that little feature. She hated crying but what she hated even more was when it showed.

Rubbing her eyes she opened the door and almost fell over Hugo who was still sitting there. Hugo was her dog. Actually, he had been _his_ dog but as she'd left his flat in a rush a few months ago she just couldn't have found it in her heart to leave Hugo behind in the empty apartment to face an unknown future. Apologetically she stroked his chocolate coloured head and received a slobbery kiss in exchange. "Feeling fit for a walk?" she asked him, like every morning.

Before Abby had gone into her self-chosen exile, her mother had told her – somewhat desperately – how important a daily routine was if you felt like losing control over your life. Sometimes routine was the only thing that linked you to reality – or sanity for that. So Abby had worked hard to get herself a nice little routine. It really did help between sulking and suffering and hating the world to actually have something to do.

First thing on her daily schedule was to walk Hugo. She even enjoyed that part. She'd always been an early-bird.

She put on a mismatched pair of socks she found under the kitchen table and slipped into her winter boots which she hadn't changed yet for her usual trainers even though it was already April. She grabbed a light jacket, Hugo's leash and her keys on the way out and locked the door behind the dog who got so excited that he started chasing his tail in the front garden. "Stop it, you idiot. What if someone _sees_ you?" she laughed a little teasingly. One of the good things about getting up so early even on a Sunday was that you had the whole town to yourself. She didn't even bother to take Hugo on the leash even though he wasn't exactly trained or well-behaved.

Without watching the way she merely followed the dog. He could usually be trusted with directions. Swinging the leash in her right hand she soon found her thoughts wandering back to the forbidden subject. They had both been young and naïve and she'd known that they'd been rushing it but when he had proposed – on his right knee, holding up a single red rose (like in all the schmalzy romantic films she used to laugh about but secretly admired) – she'd given in. Given in to his charms and his kindness, to his big and loving eyes and to her own dreams of happiness. The engagement had been short and the awakening from her dreams brutal. Even the best of people couldn't be trusted.

Abby bit her lower lip as she felt her eyes prick. She tried to focus on the present to get her head out of the past which tore open her unhealed heart. It took her a moment to realise where she was. She'd followed Hugo blindly through the whole town and along the low stonewall that surrounded Mr Lakeshore's cornfield. Hugo was some distance away, sniffing the ground frantically. He looked up at her shortly, barked once and went back to sniffing. Abby frowned. That was not Hugo's usual sniffing behaviour. She quickened her pace and went to see what made her dog so anxious. She found a book that lay in the dirt right next to the stonewall. She picked it up curiously and Hugo growled at it.

"Stop it, will you? It won't bite me, you crazy dog" she said distractedly as she ran her fingers over four long gashes which ran across and through the whole book. Apparently it was only held together by its spine which seemed to be more or less unharmed. Under all the dirt it looked like an old children's book. It had a blue cover and she could see traces of drawn objects. The title was practically unreadable. The only thing she could make out was the author: _Peculia Q. Dearwinks_. Strange name. Didn't ring a bell. She looked closer at the gashes. They looked like they had been made by an enormous animal, a bear maybe. A cold chill ran down her spine as she tried to remember whether or not bears were known to live in the area. She suddenly felt very uneasy. Her hands trembled slightly as she fixed the leash to Hugo's collar and pulled him close. She wanted to get out of this damned, lonely field. For a split second she considered her position before jumping over the stonewall right into Mr Lakeshore's field. Crossing the field would be the quickest way back into town. She tried to fight the feeling of being watched as she suddenly tripped over a bump on the ground and landed with a painful yelp flat on her face, dragging Hugo down with her. Dazedly she sat back up, spitting out wet earth. Patting a frantic Hugo soothingly on the head she looked for the obstacle that had caused her fall, heart hammering frantically. She found it merely an arms length away from her left foot.

It was a small bundle, covered in filth. She was just reaching out to examine it as she realised that it was moving – _breathing_! Summoning up all her courage she flipped the thing over to have a better look.

It was a boy. A small boy with light brown hair plastered to his head. His eyes where closed and he wore an almost peaceful expression. Abby breathed a deep sigh of relief. For a moment she'd thought…

She knew the boy, she realised. She saw him almost every morning at the café where he went with his mother. But what was he doing here, all alone, that early? Had he been camping? Had he run away from home? She grabbed the boy's shoulder and gave him a small shake to wake him up. He didn't move. The uneasy feeling from before started to creep back on her. His skin was cold, so cold and so white. She bent down and carefully picked him up.

And that was when she noticed all the blood.

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_**A/N:** Don't you just love cliffhangers? But don't worry, I won't let you hang for long. In the meantime you could always read _The Adventures of Little Moony Mooncalf_ since this chapter practically is a sequel to it (as mentioned above) - don't forget to leave a review! Love you for reading but love you even more for a quick review._


	2. A Letter Unexpected

_**A/N:** See? I told you, I wouldn't let you hang for long! So this is the next chapter where the story really starts. Be good and let me know what you think (virtual cookies for all who do). I promise to update as soon as possible. _

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**Chapter 1: A Letter Unexpected**

Remus had always rather liked school. Still he couldn't help but feel relieved that it was finally over. It had gotten harder and harder to stay inconspicuous over the past few months. Well, as inconspicuous as he could get, anyway.

Living in a small town had its pros and cons but in his case it simply was a necessity. Small towns had small schools where all the pupils knew each other by name. Remus soon had found himself singled out. One reason for that was that his mother was a teacher in his own school. This, too, was a necessity because the only thing his mother had ever learned was how to teach and the next school where she could have gotten a job was almost two hours drive away.

Another reason was his clumsiness. Not a day went by where he didn't show up at school with at least a few bruises. There where however times when he showed up with more than just a few bumps or a black eye and more than once he had been asked by the school nurse if his mother beat him. That was horrible every time. His mother was the single most caring and loving person in the world. And there was just no better explanation he could offer for all the injuries he sometimes – often – bore.

To Remus it was obvious that people didn't talk to him because they where afraid of him, even though he was quite sure that they had absolutely no clue what they where actually afraid of. He blamed it on primary instinct.

Although he sometimes wished for company he was never really lonely. He had his books and they've never once disappointed him, filling his head with knowledge and his heart with wisdom. When the other boys of his class where outside during break, playing football or having snowball-fights during winter, he usually sat on his favourite bench and read.

And that was just what he did right now. School was over, the final bell had rung. He sat on his bench, a book on his lap, waiting for his mother to join him on the way home. The sun burnt mercilessly through the feeble shadow that was provided by the oak standing some feet behind him. He watched two of his late classmates kick a football at each other. One of them, Michael Holvey, had been his friend once. They had played canasta together and had hunted for salamanders and spiders in the nearby forest after school. That was before Michael's mother had told him to stay away from Remus as there was "obviously something wrong with that strange Lupin kid".

Remus saw Michael and his friend Phillip Box – who never missed an opportunity to trip Remus up in the corridors or elbow him in the ribs whenever he walked past him – looking in his direction and whispering something at each other. Box rummaged around in his bag which lay some feet away in the middle of the football field. Michael watched him for a while and then turned and smiled at Remus. Hesitantly he smiled back. At precisely that moment an apple shot at him like a bullet and hit him squarely in the head. He let out a surprised yelp and toppled off the bench. He heard the two boys' laughter as he rubbed the spot just above his right eye where the apple had hit him. He saw it lying innocently in the grass next to his shoe and picked it up. Rubbing it clean on his T-shirt he took a bite and then waved at the boys.

"Thanks for that, Phillip! I was just thinking about how hungry I was. Tastes a bit sour but I guess it'll do" he gave them a huge smile and went back to his book. Out of the corner of his eye he saw them exchange an annoyed look and grinned to himself.

Suddenly he heard a fluttering sound behind his back and turned around to find a huge bird sitting in the grass next to the oak. It was an owl, that much was certain. Having read _Great Birds of Britain_, he knew that owls where night active and he started to wonder. He got up and slowly approached the bird, hoping not to startle it. It didn't move, merely watching him curiously out of its amber eyes.

"Hello, beautiful" he said calmly. "Why are you up so late?" He scanned its legs, half expecting-

And there it was. He'd been right! This was no ordinary owl. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the letter the bird was holding in its claws. Carefully he knelt down and extended his right had as he would do when approaching a dog. The owl ignored his gesture and continued staring at him unblinkingly. Then it suddenly hopped forwards and dropped the letter onto his knees.

Remus picked it up and the owl appeared to nod contentedly and took off. Mouth hanging open he stared after it until it was nothing more than a tiny dot on the horizon. He lowered his gaze and started to examine the letter the owl had just delivered. It was made of heavy yellowish parchment that smelled funny and was sealed with a large purple wax seal that bore a coat of arms: the letter _H _surrounded by a badger, a lion, a serpent and an eagle.

* * *

That night Remus found it extremely hard to pull himself out of the whirl of thoughts and emotions that kept dragging him under. He'd kept the letter a secret from his mother until now, planning to tell her all about it over dinner when he'd had enough time to think. He'd known where it came from, what the _H_ meant, even before he had ripped it open to read. It was a letter from Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It had told him that he'd been accepted and when term started and what to bring along. Unfortunately it had failed to tell him how not to freak out.

"Mum, I need to show you something" he piped up after a very quiet lasagne.

"About your head? Yes dear, I've noticed the bump" she said, repositioning her glasses which had slipped to the tip of her nose. "What was it this time? Did you trip or bump into a wall again?"

"No, it was an apple this time" he muttered, blushing slightly.

"Really? Good lord, what am I going to do with you, boy? Fruit attacking you? What's next? Flying radioactive tomatoes?" she chuckled and shook her head in mock concern.

Remus glared at her for a moment.

"Anyway" he finally said. "Look at this and tell me what you think." He held out his letter which she took, frowning. For a long time she just sat there, staring at it with growing disbelief.

"Is this really-?"

Remus nodded.

"But how can this be?"

Remus shrugged helplessly. "I hoped you could tell me."

They sat in silence as Remus's mother read and reread the letter over and over again.

"Mum" he said finally, barely managing to conceal the hint of panic in his voice. "What are we going to do?"


	3. An Important Visit

_**A/N: **Next Chapter is up. I'm actually pretty proud of how this one turned out. Tell me what you think of it. It's a bit longer than the previous ones._

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**Chapter 2 - An Important Visit**

Remus Lupin knew of his magical heritage. He knew about the magical society even though he was not a part of it. He knew a little about Quidditch and about the Ministry of Magic and a lot about Hogwarts. He knew his mother was a Muggle and his father had been a known and respected researcher in the field of magical creatures. But even though he knew all that, the magical world was like the moon to him. You knew it was there and you couldn't deny its influence on your life but you could never actually go there, walk on its surface or touch its ground, no matter how hard you wished for it.

He would never have dreamed that the moon would actually come to him one day!

Three weeks after he had received his letter from Hogwarts, Remus found himself staring at a shabby little pub in the heart of London. He took a glimpse at his wristwatch for what felt to be the hundredth time.

They were late!

Nervously he tapped his foot on the pavement and watched his mother emerge from a bookstore right next to the tiny pub, carrying a large paper bag.

"Still not here yet?" she asked him, adjusting her glasses and flipping her long hair back.

"Nope. No sign of them" he muttered. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"It said _The Leaky Cauldron_ on their note" she answered confidently. "Have you checked the inside? Maybe they're already waiting for us."

"I'm not stupid, Mum. I've checked twice!" he answered subdued.

She just smirked at him and entered the pub, door creaking unpleasantly in its hinges. Sulking a little, he followed her inside, only to receive a slight blow to his head from his mother. "Not stupid, are you?" she said cheerily, pointing at a small family who was sitting next to the bar, sipping their drinks and waving animatedly.

"But…how…I've been in here not five minutes ago! How did they get past me?" he stammered confusedly as his mother grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the waiting family. They all got up to greet them happily and after a few "How good to see you again"s and "What have you been up to"s his mother took to introducing everybody to Remus.

"Remus, this is Mr and Mrs Potter" she indicated a rather old looking couple. "Mr Potter has been working with your father at the Ministry of Magic..."

"Well now, that's not entirely true, is it, Penny?" the old man said cheerfully, lisping a little. He was almost bald except for a few tufts of white hair behind his large ears. He wore thick spectacles that made his brown eyes look like huge orbs. "You must know, young Remus, your father was always out in the field, exploring and researching. I, on the other hand work for the department of Magical Innovation and Development, which means that I hardly ever get to see the light of day. So yes, we have been working together but not _together_ together, you see?"

Remus didn't see but he still nodded politely.

Mrs Potter was a sight to behold. She had long silver hair that stuck out in all directions and made her look as if she'd just received an electric shock. She wore a long gown that looked as if it had been tailored out of a shower-curtain and her wrinkled face was painted like the face of an old porcelain doll. She smiled at him warmly and had her arms slung around the shoulders of a boy who had to be about Remus's age. He looked like a funny mixture of his parents. His jet-black hair looked ruffled and a pair of hazel eyes glittered behind his round glasses. His striped T-shirt and jeans were extremely dusty, Remus noticed, as were the boy's parents.

"I'm sorry we kept you waiting, Penny" Mrs Potter said. "We're not so good with Muggle traffic, you know? So we flooed here. By the way, darling, you're still covered in soot" she said, brushing some of the dirt off her son's shoulders.

"So are you, mother" he said, imitating her. He wore a huge grin as he turned around and extended his right hand for Remus to shake. "I'm James. Nice to meet you – again! You probably won't remember but you used to fall off my toy-broom when we were little."

"Toy-broom?" he said confusedly, shaking James's hand.

"Yeah. You used to cry a lot. Hope you've gotten around to changing that."

"Alright everybody" Mr Potter cut in and saved Remus the embarrassment. "Drink up, we have lots to do. James, be so kind and show Remus where he can get his uniforms. I'm dying to show his mother the new antique shop that has opened up next to the apothecary's. Be good and I'll get you boys an ice-cream afterwards."

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Walking down Diagon Alley with James was like hovering between waking and dreaming. A load of impressions flooded him, accompanied by flashes of very old memories. He could, for instance, remember the huge white building in the centre of the cobbled street. James told him it was Gringotts, the wizard's bank. He had a vague memory of Flourish and Blotts with its towers of books staked everywhere and fought the urge to storm in to explore. But James dragged him onwards to a little shop that displayed a variety of broomsticks. While James stood there, his hands pressed against the shop window, gaping at the brooms admiringly, Remus couldn't help but laugh. He knew of course, that broomsticks were the most important means of transportation in the Wizarding World but to him, a broom was nothing more than a cleaning tool.

The shop door flew open and a tall boy with long, white-blond hair came storming out, a brand-new racing broom tucked under his arm. He stopped as he saw the two boys, eyeballing them. As he walked past Remus, he elbowed him hard in the ribs which sent him to the ground. "Out of my way, filthy mudblood" he spat as he stormed off.

"Wha- HEY! Are you out of your mind? How dare you call him that, you slimy-" James yelled and made to run after the boy but Remus grabbed his arm to hold him back.

"Don't" he huffed, rubbing his aching ribs.

"How dare he! That swine! Let go of me. I'll get him back for that" James stormed, shaking Remus off. His face burned with anger and his glasses had slipped to the tip of his nose, dreading to fall off any minute.

"Never mind. I can take more than that. Doesn't even hurt anymore, so don't bother."

"That's not it! That _word_! That filthy, bloody- Oh, sorry. Are you hurt? I got a little carried away just now."

"I already told you, it's nothing" Remus mumbled, still rubbing his chest. "What's with that word, anyway?"

"Oh, don't get me going again" James fumed. "That arrogant bastard! And it's not even appropriate in your case – if it were appropriate to use it at all, that is. You're a half-blood after all!"

Remus knew that James had simply tried to defend him but somehow he felt he'd just been labelled. Half-blood. Was that a good or a bad thing?

"Is it so obvious then, that I'm not a true wizard" he asked quietly.

James didn't respond for a while. "Don't worry" he said finally.

He was still in a very bad mood as they entered the shop where they wanted to buy their uniforms a few minutes later. A bell chimed somewhere in the back of the shop and a melodious voice called "I'll be with you in a minute! Have a look around in the meantime!"

Remus did so. The store was packed with shelves of clothing in every colour imaginable. One corner housed a variety of sports-robes and James's mood brightened up instantly as he spotted the colours of his favourite Quidditch-team. He ran off to have a closer look and left Remus all by himself. A cardboard sign at the other end of the shop read _Hogwarts uniforms_ in a very artful hand. In the right bottom corner someone had scribbled _10% off for first years_. He approached a huge basket full of plain black robes and pulled one out. It looked very simple and boring. The only colourful thing on it was the Hogwarts crest on its left side. Remus's gaze fell on a shelf right next to the basket. It stretched from the floor of the shop up to the ceiling. On it were a variety of robes just like the one Remus held in his hand, apart from very small details. He dropped the first-year robe back into its basket and pulled one of the others off its shelf. Its sleeves and the lining were emerald green and the coat of arms on its side didn't show the Hogwarts _H_ but a silver _S_ and a serpent which coiled itself in front of a green background. He liked this colourful version of the school uniforms a lot more so he pulled it over his head and looked for a mirror to check his reflexion. The uniform was definitely too big for him. It dragged behind him and he had to be very careful not to step on it. His hands had vanished completely in the sleeves and he felt like a small child toying with its father's wardrobe.

"Oi" James shouted and stormed over to rap him sharply on the head. "What do you think you're doing, eh?"

"I'm doing what we're supposed to do, remember? We're supposed to get our uniforms!" Remus said somewhat defensively, rubbing his head. "And what did you have to hit me for?"

"Are you planning to go Slytherin on me?" James asked, ignoring his comment and gesturing furiously at Remus's outfit.

"Slytherin?" he repeated dumbly.

"Yes, Slytherin. One of the four houses. And the only one you really don't want to end up in – at least not if our friendship means anything to you, that is."

Remus's heart gave an involuntary pang as James had said "friendship" and he felt his cheeks burn.

* * *

Later that day Remus found out what Mrs Potter had meant when she had said that she and her family had _flooed _to the Leaky Cauldron. After a long and hard but also very entertaining day of shopping, the Potters had decided to invite the Lupins over for dinner. They had all gathered around the pub's enormous fireplace and one Potter after the other had thrown in a pinch of a strange powder, bellowed "The Potter Residence" and vanished in a burst of green flames. Remus tried to fight his fear – which had been implanted by James who had told him flooing felt like being burnt alive – threw a bit of the green powder into the fireplace and pressed his eyes together while he shouted the destination. Surprisingly he didn't feel like being burnt but rather like being sucked down a toilet. Thankfully the sensation lasted only a few moments before he landed face forward on a cold stone floor. Mr Potter grabbed him under his arms and pulled him to his feet before his mother followed after him.

"Oh, I've totally forgotten how much fun that is!" she screamed, laughing as she swiped some soot off her blouse to clean her glasses with it.

Remus felt very dizzy but was given no time to recover before James jumped out behind him and dragged him off. "Gotta show you my room before dinner is ready" he announced.

"Don't be too long, darling. We'll eat in half an hour!" his mother shouted behind them.

The Potter's Residence was enormous and Remus was glad that he had James to show him the way. It seemed to be a very old house – at least it smelled like one. James dragged him up a flight of stairs and along a long corridor that was lined with a series of large windows which stretched from the floor almost up to the ceiling and allowed Remus a glimpse of the garden – which seemed to be enormous too.

Remus's room, which wasn't exactly small, would have easily fitted twice into James's which was very light and friendly and dominated by a huge bed with covers that showed little men on broomsticks zooming around and throwing balls at each other. The walls too were covered with all kinds of Quidditch-related motives. Apart from that, his room looked just like every other eleven-year-old's – messy.

"Please excuse the chaos. Apparently Minsy hasn't been in to clean yet. I suppose she must be busy preparing our dinner" James said. Someone chose that moment to knock on the door. "Come in" James called and in came a tiny creature dressed in what appeared to be a rather flowery old shower cap. It was laden with an amount of packages and bags which turned out to be the boys' shopping. The creature bowed low after it had placed the various goods neatly on the bed and turned to James.

"Mistress wants you in the kitchens, master. Please follow Minsy, Sir" it said with a surprisingly deep voice. James looked at Remus, gave him an apologetic grin and followed Minsy outside, calling "Make yourself at home!" over his shoulder.

A little awkwardly Remus looked around to find something to sit down on. Since he couldn't find anything apart from James's bed he sat down on the floor which was covered by an exceptionally fluffy and comfortable scarlet carpet. He reached for some of his bags to check upon his new belongings. Apart from three sets of plain black school robes he had bought a brand-new cauldron, second-hand brass scales and a whole set of school books which where required for his first year at Hogwarts, second-hand again. He had also bought a copy of _Magic for Dummies_ by Tarn Bigsnout when James hadn't been looking, hiding it under his T-shirt until it was safe for him to put it with his other books without risking being laughed at. But his most valuable new possession was his magic wand which he had bought from a creepy old man in a creepy old shop that had smelled of the dust of centuries. He rummaged around in one of his paper bags and pulled out a small box in which his wand lay. He took it out carefully and looked at it admiringly. It was 25 centimetres long and made of spruce with unicorn hair at its core. It felt cool, smooth and powerful under his fingers. He couldn't wait to give it a real try, see what he was really capable of, how much real magic was within him. But of course Mr Potter had told him about the law that forbade underage magic outside school.

The door flew open suddenly and yanked Remus out of his thoughts. "There's someone downstairs who wants to see you, mate" James said with a strange air.

"Me? Who is it" asked Remus, feeling nervous and uneasy all of a sudden.

"You'll see" was all he got for an answer and once more James grabbed his arm and dragged him along. Together they entered what had to be the Potters' living room.

Seated on the couch next to his mother was a tall old man with long silver hair and a matching beard. He had a very crooked nose and a pair of startling blue eyes which twinkled behind his half-moon spectacles. The man looked up as he heard the two boys entering and smiled warmly at them.

"Thank you, James" he said with a deep and pleasant voice. "You must be young Remus if I am not mistaken" he got up to shake a startled Remus's hand. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts."


	4. Take me away, Scarlet

_**A/N**: And here comes the next chapter. I love all you readers. Please leave a review to let me know what you think._

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**Chapter 3: Take me away, Scarlet**

"Wait a second. I'll see if I can find us a trolley for that blasted thing" his mother panted after they had carried Remus's crushingly heavy trunk from the car to the main gate of King's Cross. Sighing with relief he sank down onto his trunk and silently cursed himself for having insisted to pack far too many of his favourite books.

"Come on, honey, help me get that thing on here. I've just spotted the Potters ahead. If we hurry you could go with James" she said a moment later, having found a small luggage cart. Since the day the headmaster of Hogwarts had suddenly turned up in the Potters' living room to have a little private chat with him, Remus hadn't seen James and he was rather looking forward to meet him again. Carefully he loaded his trunk on top of the trolley, trying hard not to drop it onto his foot again which was still sore from when it had first made contact with it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small group of people strut past him. Taking a closer look he recognised the white-haired boy who had elbowed him in the ribs in Diagon Alley more than a month ago. He was accompanied by a blond girl and three or four boys, all of them wearing similar expressions of disgust and arrogance. He couldn't help but notice that they were all already clad in their Hogwarts uniforms and realised that they must belong to Slytherin-house, judging by their green sleeves.

He snorted and got back to tugging his trunk safely onto the cart. That done he wiped the sweat off his forehead and started wheeling past the crowd of people which had gathered at the main gate. It was easy to spot the Potters who stood there waiting between Platforms 9 and 10, craning their necks and all looking rather peculiar. As James's and Remus's gazes met, he lifted his right hand to wave at him. That little moment of carelessness was enough to lose him the control over his trolley and he bumped right into the luggage cart of a girl in front of him. For a moment they both stared at each other, shocked. The girl seemed to be roughly his age and had brilliant green eyes. Her dark red hair fell over her shoulders and caught the light beautifully.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I hope you didn't get hurt" the girl cried out concernedly. She had a very melodious voice.

"N-no. I'm okay" Remus stuttered, blushing furiously. His mother, who was watching him, rolled her eyes over his display of clumsiness. Somewhere in the back of his mind Remus noticed that the girl had just apologised for his mistake but before he could point that out to her, his mother had taken hold of the trolley and was dragging it towards the waiting Potter family, pulling her son behind her.

"That looked – painful – amongst other things" James snorted with laughter, clapping Remus on the back and wiping his eyes. "Anyway, we have to hurry. Train's about to leave in fifteen minutes."

"Right. So where's that mysterious Platform 9¾?" Remus asked, adopting a businesslike tone to distract from his burning red face.

"Just follow me, my green friend" James said superiorly, wheeled his own trolley through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10 and vanished.

"Right" Remus said once more, took a deep breath, pressed his eyes firmly shut and followed.

Walking through the barrier felt like plunging into cold water but the eerie sensation lasted only for a short moment. When he opened his eyes again, Remus found himself in the middle of a huge crowd of people, all dressed in strange, multicoloured robes, hugging their children goodbye or helping them with their luggage or simply standing around, waiting. His gaze was immediately caught by a large steam-engine which stood at the platform, waiting patiently. It was scarlet and the inscription _Hogwarts Express_ was imprinted on its side. It gleamed magnificently in the sunlight, constantly breathing steam into the air.

Remus turned around to look for James but couldn't spot him anywhere. He looked for his parents and his own mother, but couldn't find them either. His wristwatch told him that he only had a few minutes left before the Hogwarts Express would set off. Feeling a little left alone, he pushed his trolley towards the train and made to lift his trunk up. It didn't budge. He tried some more, only succeeding in making the white-haired Slytherin and his gang, who weren't standing far from him, laugh with malicious joy.

A tall, rather burly looking boy who was already dressed in his crimson-sleeved school robes took pity on him and helped him lift his heavy trunk onto the train and into an empty compartment. Gasping, Remus dropped into a seat and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He managed to gather enough breath to start wheezing out this thanks as suddenly James sprang out on the boy from nowhere.

"Quigley, my lad! How was your summer? I heard they finally let you play against Puddlemere United last July? Wow. Big game, that one" he said without blinking, all the while vigorously shaking Quigley's hand.

"Who the hell are you?" the tall boy said with popping eyes.

"James Potter, future Quidditch captain, multiple winner of the Quidditch cup and sportsman of the century. Pleased to meet you."

Quigley just gaped at him, as did Remus.

"You need to help me, Quigley" he continued, adopting a rather desperate look. "First years usually don't get on the house team, I've been told. Surely you can help me there, can't you, what with you being Gryffindor's captain an all. I'd do practically anything…!"

"Sorry, kid. I don't think there's much I can do for you. The minimum requirement to get onto the team is that you're tall enough to look past your broom" Gryffindor's Quidditch captain said, grinning maliciously, obviously having recovered from the initial shock of being sprung at so suddenly and called a _lad_ by a boy who hasn't even reached puberty yet.

"A minor hindrance" James noted loftily. "True grandeur has nothing to do with size."

Quigley appeared dumbfounded for a second, than burst out laughing. "You've certainly got spirit, kid! Would you like to come to my compartment? Maybe you could show me some of that _true grandeur_ of yours."

James beamed and followed him, leaving Remus behind, who just shook his head, smiling. Then he remembered that the train was about to leave any minute and he rushed out onto the platform to look for his mother. He found her deep in conversation with Mr and Mrs Potter.

He took a deep breath, trying hard to straighten out his jumbled emotions. He had never been separated from his mother before. All these years she had been the only one who had known about his secret and still found it in her heart to love him unconditionally. She had been the only one who knew about his personal hell and loved him enough to go through it with him.

But it was time now. Time to show her that he was finally strong enough to face it without her.

He fought back the tears that pricked in his eyes, dreading to betray his true emotions, went up to his mother and extended his right hand for her to shake. She stared at it as though it were from outer space.

"Idiot" she said, pulling him into a tight hug. She felt his shoulders starting to shake slightly in her arms and knew that he was desperately fighting his emotions. "It's all right. I'm going to be fine, even without you, love. And you're going to be fine too. Don't forget, Professor Dumbledore knows. Whenever you're in trouble – you know what I mean – you can go to him. He promised to help you."

He nodded, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Good boy. Now, be good, study hard and don't forget to write. I have no owl so I'm really dependant on you" she whispered softly in his ear. She gave him a final rib cracking hug, obviously trying to squeeze as much love into him as was possible, before the conductor gave the sign that the Hogwarts Express was about to set off. Remus gave a last, rather watery smile to his mother and Mr and Mrs Potter before he turned around and hopped onto the train to go and look for James.

Remus lost his balance as the Hogwarts Express suddenly set itself into motion and tumbled backwards right into the red-haired girl he'd previously run over with his trolley at King's Cross's main gate.

"Whoops, careful" she said, grabbing his arm to prevent him from falling. "That was a close shave!"

"S-sorry. Thanks" he mumbled, blushing again as he steadied himself.

"Don't mention it" she said cheerfully. "I'm Lily. This is my first year at Hogwarts. Yours too, right? Isn't it all exciting?"

At that moment a boy poked his head out of a compartment to Lily's right. "Are you coming? I saved you a seat" he said to her morosely. He had rather greasy, black hair and a very long, hooked nose.

"Coming" she said, flashing Remus a big smile and vanishing into the compartment after her friend.

That left Remus to continue looking for James. Glad to have no further accidents in the quickly moving train, he finally found him in a compartment with Quigley, the Gryffindor captain. They were surrounded by a crowd of people, all of them animatedly discussing Quidditch and Quigley's latest performance against Puddlemere United. Feeling a little uncomfortable, Remus squeezed himself into the last empty seat opposite a rather round boy with small, watery eyes and very light brown hair. To his amusement he noted that the boy was reading _Magic for Dummies_. He pulled his own copy of the book out of his shoulder bag, having checked before that James was properly occupied and wouldn't notice.


	5. Hat and Dog

_**A/N**: Happy Easter, everybody! Here comes my gift to you. Sirius has his first appearance in this chapter and promptly shares his POV with Remus. Hope you'll like it, and if you do, please leave a review (*rhymes*). Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 4: Hat and Dog**

Time flew by like the landscape outside as Remus found himself sucked deeper and deeper into the book, gradually forgetting where he was. At the time the Hogwarts Express finally came to a halt in Hogsmeade Station the sky outside was already darkening rapidly. When he hopped off the train and onto the platform Remus suddenly realised he was the only one who hadn't changed into his school robes yet. Hastily he ran back into the compartment and threw on his new uniform, watching through the window as James and a group of other students, all clad in the plain first-year robes, gathered around an enormous man with wild hair and beard underneath of which his face was practically invisible. He towered over the assembling students, being at least twice as tall as a grown man and four times as wide. Remus hurried after them, arriving just in time to hear the giant yell at a boy, dressed in emerald-sleeved Slytherin robes.

"Firs'-years, I said! Somethin' wrong with yer ears, boy? The older students go up ter school with the carriages over there," he pointed over the heads of the assembled first-years.

Remus looked closer at the boy who was being shouted at and recognised him as one of the white-haired Slytherin's gang. He was almost a head taller than himself and had shiny black hair, just long enough to fall casually in his eyes. His features looked almost aristocratic and he held his head high, chin pushed forwards. He wore the same expression of disgust Remus had noticed on his face at King's Cross.

"My ears are perfectly fine, thank you very much. And since this is my first year at Hogwarts, I think I am entitled to stand with my fellow students, Sir" he said coolly.

"First year, is it?" the giant scoffed. "Where's yer proper uniform them, eh? And yeh sure are to tall fer a first-year."

"I apologise for my appearance. I do hope, however, that you will agree that I can hardly be held responsible for my size" the boy answered calmly, pointedly looking the giant over.

The bits of the giant's face that were visible to Remus turned a vivid scarlet and he heard him mutter something that sounded like "Whatever". He left the matter at that and led the gathered first-years out of the station and along a narrow path until they reached the shore of a vast black lake where a small fleet of tiny boats waited, bobbing slightly up and down. As soon as every student had clambered into one of them, they took off, rippling the otherwise smooth surface. Remus lost himself in the reflexion of the moon above him which was almost full now.

He resisted the urge to slam his fist into it, shattering the hateful thing.

* * *

Hogwarts Castle was very big, very old and very beautiful. None of this was noticed by Remus who had started to shake with nerves in anticipation of the upcoming Sorting Ceremony the moment he had left the boat that had carried him across the lake. Somewhat startled he found himself crowded up inside a small room together with his fellow first-years, trying to remember how in Merlin's name he'd ended up there. He looked for James and thought he could see his untidy black hair in the front, right next to the red-haired girl he'd already had two collisions with that day. He himself was standing in close proximity to the dark-haired Slytherin boy. James had told him about the Sorting Ceremony back in Diagon Alley when they'd been having their ice-cream. He'd told him that every student got examined by an impartial judge in front of the whole school who then decided which house each student would belong to henceforth. He tried to imagine what said judge would do if he saw that one student had already decided for himself where he would like to be put.

His thoughts were interrupted by a very stern looking witch who entered the small chamber just then and clapped her hands sharply to get the first-years' attention. "Good evening. I am Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house. I will now lead you into the Great Hall where you will all be sorted. I want you all at your best behaviour. You will line up where I tell you to, come forth when I call out your name and take a seat at your respective house-table after you have been sorted. You will remain calm until the last student has taken his place and the headmaster has held his speech."

She waited for them to nod their understanding, then turned around briskly, opened the door and led the long line of first-years into the Great Hall. A sea of gleaming candles floated in midair over four long tables packed with students, one of them scarlet, one a dark amber, one sapphire-blue and one emerald-green. Remus spotted captain Quigley at the scarlet table, waving cheerfully at James. The stern looking witch made them line up in front of another long table that faced the others on which the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, sat centred, flanked on either side by his teachers.

Remus's heart started to hammer painfully against his ribcage, seemingly trying to escape. His feet however where firmly rooted to the stone floor, feeling like they belonged to another person entirely. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to be judged in front of the whole school.

Professor McGonagall placed a very battered old wizard's hat on a three-legged stool in front of the teachers' table, facing the rest of the school. After a short moment, a gash right above the hat's brim opened and it started to sing with a strong but ancient voice. It sang something about the founders of the school and how they each had taken on students that represented what they had valued most. It sang about Gryffindor valuing the brave, Slytherin the cunning, Ravenclaw the witty and Hufflepuff the kind, rhyming it all artfully. As it ended the Great Hall nearly drowned in cheers and clapping and whistles of all the assembled students and teachers.

Remus tried to do a little bit of introspection to find out which house we would fit in the most. He wasn't sure since he thought he could find some of all of the aforementioned qualities in himself. He was, however, sure he didn't want to be put in Slytherin, remembering his and James's conversation in Diagon Alley as they'd been buying their school robes and the rather unpleasant white-haired boy with his gang.

"Aubrey, Bertram" the stern witch called at that moment, opening the ceremony, reading the name from a long list. A boy with a long face and blond hair came forward to sit on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the battered hat on his head and a split second later it had called out "_Slytherin_" sending the boy off to sit at the emerald table accompanied by an outbreak of cheers.

She had to raise her voice against the roaring of delight that came from the Slytherin table to call forward "Black, Sirius".

The black-haired boy in his green-sleeved robes stepped up and was greeted by an even louder storm of approval by the green table. He sat down upon the stool like it was nothing short of a throne, his aristocratic features unmoving as the hat was dropped on his head. He sat there for not more than half a second, completely motionless, before the hat bellowed "_Gryffindor!_"

Suddenly it was so silent that one could have heard a pin drop. Black, Sirius got up from his stool, placed the hat on top and strode over to the scarlet table, face still unreadable. As he sat down amongst his fellow Gryffindors the Great Hall suddenly exploded with a mixture of cheers and outrage.

The next few names were called out in rapid succession and Remus soon felt himself loose the overview of who became what. However, he noticed the red-haired girl, "Evans, Lily" getting sorted into Gryffindor as well before, far too soon for his own taste, he heard his own name.

"Lupin, Remus!"

He shuffled forwards, trying hard not to fall over his own feet which felt strangely disconnected. He sat down on the stool like so many had done before him, holding his breath and closing his eyes as the hat touched his head. Immediately he heard a small voice whisper in his ear.

"Lupin is it? I've heard so much about you" the ancient voice of the hat said with a definite hint of excitement. "I've always wanted to know how you people look like from the inside!"

Remus tried hard not to feel offended by this.

"Well, where to put you, my dear?" it asked ponderingly.

_Not Slytherin, please_, Remus thought hard, his lips moving soundlessly along.

"Not another one" the hat cried indignantly in his ear. "You'd think I know how to do my job after a thousand years of practise, wouldn't you? Just trust my judgment, if I may be so bold as to give you that advice. At this moment there is no one who knows you better than me, not even yourself. _Especially_ not yourself, as I can see. You seem to be full of doubt…"

_Could be worse_, Remus thought back.

"Believe me, my dear boy, when I tell you that I've never had a mind under my flap that was quite as brilliant as yours and at the same time had such a bad opinion of itself. You'd be the perfect candidate for Ravenclaw. Lots of bright heads there just like yours."

_No, thanks, I think I'd rather not_.

"You'd rather not? Where else would you like to go then?"

_Well, I guess I'd like to go where James is_, Remus thought timidly, forgetting that James hadn't been sorted yet.

"James? Friend of yours? Well, if this is about friendship I'd better put you in _Gryffindor_!"

* * *

"Some more _green_ broccoli soup for you?" the annoying dark-haired boy sitting next to him asked in his annoying voice, pushing his annoying round glasses up his annoying nose.

"Yeah, thanks, I'll have it" Sirius said, smirking at the annoying brat and taking the soup he held out to him.

He just couldn't stop grinning. He supposed all the joy that had flooded his system was accumulating in the corners of his mouth, solidifying there and freezing his facial expression to preserve it for eternity.

He finished his soup which tasted a bit too salty.

"Finished already?" the annoying bespectacled brat asked him in mock surprise. "Have some _green _beans then. Or how about some of this delicious _green_ spinach, so you'll grow big and strong? Always eat your vegetables, my mum always says."

"I'll shove your vegetables up your-"

"I think I'd like some of the spinach, if you can spare any" the kid sitting opposite him cut in, obviously trying to restore peace and order before a food-fight could break out – which could have happened any minute if Sirius was concerned.

"Help yourself" he said casually, taking a closer look at the boy. His short brown hair was tidy but lacked a healthy gleam. His skin was very white, almost translucent. He had dark circles under his eyes which made him look as if he hadn't slept in days. All in all, Sirius noted, the boy looked rather ill and he fought the strange urge to send him off to bed.

"How about some of the _green_ jelly, then?" the annoying brat said, holding the dish right under his nose. Grinning hugely, Sirius picked the glasses off the boy's nose and stuck them into the desert.

"No, thank you" he said pleasantly.

The pudgy pudding of a boy next to the sick one snorted into his third helping of roast beef with baked potatoes.

"Shut it, Peter" the annoying one growled in an offended tone, plucking his glasses out of the jelly and eyeing them with disgust.

"So, where do you two know each other from?" the sick one cut in again, obviously desperate for harmony.

"We've been to school together, haven't we, James?" the pudding said.

"Where do wizards go to school then before they come to Hogwarts?"

"Pete and I have been to Madame Bloxam's prep school. You learn some basics there. Clearly, reading and writing is essential – even for a wizard – and some calculating too. Apart from that you just get some magical theory there because obviously anything practical falls under the law that forbids under-age magic. We did get a few flying lessons though, although we were only allowed to use the toy-brooms which wouldn't go higher than a metre or so."

Sirius snorted.

"And then you get the noble ones who wouldn't want their precious children to mix with the crowd" four-eyes said acidly, staring Sirius straight into the face. "_They_ get their private tutors, of course."

"Actually" Sirius corrected him "I didn't get any private tutor. I have been taught by Professor Grammaticus and Professor Calculatus."

"Seriously? Someone actually uses those things?" pudding-boy said with disbelief.

"Who are Professors Grammaticus and Calculatus?" the sick one asked interestedly.

"They are kind of devices which are supposed to teach you stuff…sort of. I heard they were actually nothing more than a Muggle television set someone charmed to recite the alphabet or the multiplication tables."

"Are you even capable of counting the amount of fingers on your hand?" the visually impaired git asked Sirius with mock concern.

"Want me to count the amount of teeth for you I'm going to punch out of your mouth?" Sirius asked politely.

"Another time maybe" the imp gave back unimpressed.

"Gotta tell you this one" the pudding suddenly said excitedly, barely managing to hold back his laughter. "About two years ago, Ms Bloxam had laughed at a picture James had been drawing – it _really_ was funny! He had tried to draw his parents and they'd ended up looking like a pair of sticks attached to huge, deformed balloons! Anyway, he got so mad at her that he jinxed one of the chairs to follow her around all day, laughing at _her_. She'd ended up locked inside the bathroom, crying her eyes out!"

"You make it look like I jinxed that chair on purpose, which I haven't! It was an accident, as you well know!"

"Still a good one for your first piece of magic ever."

"Who said that was my first piece of magic" the imp cried in an offended tone.

"I did my first when I was six" Sirius said, feeling superior. "Made my Mum grow hair on her teeth. I couldn't say that was an accident, though."

The boys all laughed.

"What about you, Remus? What did you do?"

"Me? I don't…well, I suppose I can't remember. Wait a minute! Haven't you all been going on about children not being allowed to do magic outside school?"

"Well, yes, of course. But seeing as a child hasn't learned yet how to control its magic, it happens to everyone eventually. Child-magic is usually very impulsive and has a lot to do with emotional distress. Most parents are actually very glad if their child shows signs of magic at an early age because it is proof that it isn't a Squib – non-magical, that is" four-eyes lectured.

The sick one just sat there, seeming to be lost in thought as suddenly Professor McGonagall appeared behind him, startling him badly.

"Have you finished your dinner, Mr Lupin?" she asked him, grasping his shoulder softly. As he nodded she said "Then please be so kind and follow me. I believe we have much to discuss."

The boy got up promptly, almost knocking his goblet full of pumpkin juice over. Sirius noticed that he swiftly glanced up at the ceiling which mirrored the sky outside and currently displayed a magnificent, almost full moon, embedded in a sea of stars. He was surprised to see his face contort with a pained and almost fearful expression and couldn't help but wonder.

"You don't have to look at him so smugly, Mr Black" Professor McGonagall said to him, misreading his expression. "I shall want a quick word with you too. We've found your little friend by your luggage and I'm afraid this is highly unorthodox" she said pointedly, pulling out a tiny puppy from behind her back and holding it under his nose.

* * *

_**A/N**: I dedicate this chapter to **Lisa**, who loves fantasy-stories and will hopefully like this one too. Loads of chocolate eggs to all my readers!_

_**Disclaimer:** I still don't own anything, in case you've been wondering ;-D_


	6. Anduríl

_**A/N:** Here comes the next chapter. Hope you enjoy. I borrowed Anu's name and the title for this chapter from The Lord of the Rings, fyi. It's the name of Aragorn's sword after it was reforged from the remains of Narsil (actually it's spelled Andúril and not Anduríl but who cares, right?)._

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Anduríl**

Professor McGonagall's study was small and simple furnished. Apart from a large fireplace there was only her desk, her chair – which looked rather uncomfortable – and two straight-backed wooden armchairs she'd pulled out from a corner and placed in front of the desk for the two boys to sit on – which definitely were uncomfortable. A high window showed the inky black night sky. There were no pictures or paintings on the walls or on her desk.

Sirius sat on his chair indifferently, taking in every detail of the room with mild interest. He glanced at the sick looking boy next to him – Lupin. The name sounded vaguely familiar.

Professor McGonagall placed the puppy on top of her desk and watched it for a moment. It was a pretty dog with triangular ears and very soft, storm-grey fur. Its electric blue eyes were fixed on Sirius and it looked as if it had just peed on its master's new carpet, knowing exactly what a bad thing that was to do. Sirius gave it a very small smile to reassure it which was caught immediately by Professor McGonagall.

"What's so funny, Mr Black?" she snapped.

"I didn't-"

She held out her hand to silence him and pulled out her wand. She gave it a small flick in the direction of a filing cabinet which stood at the wall behind his back – Sirius hadn't noticed it until now. The bottom drawer creaked open and with a lot of papery rustling a piece of heavy, yellowish parchment came soaring out. For a moment it hovered in mid-air before it threw itself on Sirius's lap. He picked it up curiously and looked at it. It was a Hogwarts list of requirements, just like the one he'd received last summer attached to his letter of admittance to Hogwarts.

"I believe you are capable of reading, Mr Black?" Professor McGonagall said curtly. "Be so kind and read the last paragraph for me, will you?" she flicked her wand again and the last few lines of the letter started to highlight themselves.

Sirius frowned at her and then started to read the marked piece, "…students may also bring an owl or a toad or a cat-"

"Well done, Mr Black. So you _can_ read" she said softly. "Perhaps you can explain to me why you brought a dog to school, then?"

"I…didn't think-"

"Clearly."

"Err, Professor? How come there are no dogs allowed at school?" the Lupin-kid piped up in a small voice. Sirius looked at him in mild surprise. That was none of his business, so why would he get involved? Lupin avoided eye-contact with either him or Professor McGonagall but kept his gaze fixed on the puppy on the desk instead. His cheeks displayed a vivid red.

Professor McGonagall turned on him, "Because it's a school-rule, for one! It is not for a student – especially a first-year – to decide which rules will be obeyed and which ignored!"

"I can see that. But why is it a rule anyway? What is the big difference between a cat and a dog for example?" Lupin said, finally screwing up his courage and facing McGonagall's furious glare.

"…apart from the obvious, I mean" he added hastily, his blush spreading to his ears.

She just stared at him wordlessly for a moment before she said, "Every animal allowed in this school serves a certain purpose and that's why they are permitted. An owl for example is an essential means of communication for every student. That's why we even provide school-owls so that even those who haven't got an owl themselves are able to stay in touch with their families at home. Toads are often used in Transfiguration or Potions and are therefore very useful, if not very aesthetic to the eye."

"And what about cats? What are they good for?" Sirius argued hotly.

"A cat, Mr Black" McGonagall said icily, "comforts its owner, keeps its owner's house vermin-free and provides entertainment. And it is a very intelligent, beautiful and sensitive creature. And it is fluffy" she added the last bit defiantly and almost to herself. "And dogs, they are loud and rough and smelly and dirty and good for nothing. I won't have them in this school. It's against the rules and that's final!"

Sirius got up wordlessly and picked his puppy up. It immediately started licking his face. He sat back down and said – with the slightest hint of despair, "What shall I do now?"

"You send it back home, of course. The Hogwarts-Express already left for London but you can use my fireplace. There you go, have some Floo powder" she pulled a handsome silver box with an engraved fire-breathing dragon on it out of a drawer of her desk and placed it in front of Sirius. "I'm sure your mother will take care of your dog for you while you are at school."

"Care?! Professor McGonagall, with all due respect, I barely managed to survive my mother's _care_! Please don't make me send her my dog…"

Professor McGonagall's fierce expression softened considerably and she adopted an almost pitying look, "How is Walburga? I haven't seen her in quite a while…"

Sirius bit his lip and lowered his gaze. He pressed his puppy tightly to his chest. "Please, Professor" he whispered pleadingly.

She heaved a sigh. "Well, alright. But you will have to stick to certain rules, the both of you" she finally gave in. "Your dog will keep to your dormitory during your lessons. You will make sure that it is house-trained immediately. It is not allowed inside the Great Hall, especially during mealtime. And by no means will I tolerate it distracting you from your studies. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear!" Sirius said earnestly.

"Off you go, then" she said, waving her hand dismissively. "You will find your dormitory on the seventh floor behind the portrait of the Fat Lady. Ask the other portraits on your way for directions. The password to Gryffindor-Tower is '_Better to light your wand than to curse the darkness_'."

"That's clever" Sirius noted and got up. He looked at Lupin to see if he was coming but the boy just sat there, staring at his shoes.

"You don't have to wait for Mr Lupin. Good night, Mr Black."

Sirius took the hint but before he shut the door behind him he pocked his head back inside to say, "Thank you, Professor."

She just nodded curtly. "Oh, and Mr Black, make sure to dress properly for your first lesson tomorrow" she said with a very pointed look at his Slytherin-green robes.

He forced a smile and let the door swing shut. His last glance of the room was Lupin who had turned around in his chair and looked at him with a strange, lost expression.

* * *

Remus stifled a huge yawn. He'd been with Professor McGonagall for almost two hours and it had gotten very late. He dragged his feet along the seventh floor corridor in search of the portrait of the Fat Lady. According to the portrait of a skinny wizard with a braided beard in a pink ballet dress, it had to be around the next corner. At this late hour, the only light came from the moon which shone through the few windows that lined the corridor. He turned the corner and stumbled over something big on the ground which gave a startled cry.

"Watch where you're going" it howled and got up from the floor to grab him by the scruff of the neck.

In the dim light Remus would have had difficulties to identify the speaker, but thankfully he had an excellent sense of hearing.

"Sirius? What were you doing on the floor?"

"I thought I'd get some sleep. The floor is really comfortable here; you should give it a try some time" he grumbled sarcastically. "The Fat Lady won't let me inside the common room."

"Only Gryffindor-students are allowed inside. I told you so before. You can spend the whole night here for all I care" a shrill voice from behind Sirius cried indignantly and Remus realised that he'd finally found the portrait he'd been looking for.

"I-AM-A-GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius yelled. "I told you the password, didn't I? Now, how would I know that if I wasn't a bloody Gryffindor?"

"Do you think I'm blind? Or stupid, maybe? Don't you think I know a Slytherin when I see one?"

Remus could feel the boy next to him stiffen and he grabbed him by the arm to prevent him from doing anything stupid. "There has been a misunderstanding, Ma'am" he tried to calm the enraged painting. "Sirius Black here has been sorted into Gryffindor tonight. I vouch for him."

"And who are you? I've never seen you before."

"My name is Remus Lupin, Ma'am. This is my first year at Hogwarts" he said quietly.

"Then what are you doing up so late? There is strict curfew for students, especially first-years! Off to bed with you!"

"We'd like to but you refuse to let us in!" Sirius howled.

"Holy Hippogriff! I forgot the password!" Remus squeaked, clapping his hands to his mouth. The Fat Lady and Sirius snorted in exasperation.

At that moment the Portrait of the Fat Lady swung open with a small, indignant cry from her and Remus thought that she must have given in finally when James suddenly poked his head out of a small opening in the wall that appeared right behind the painting.

"There you are! Pete and I started to worry when you guys didn't show up and we decided to come looking for you. Where in Merlin's name have you been? Did you realise that there is a curfew for students? Teachers and Prefects are out patrolling the corridors to see if someone sneaks out of bed. You could have gotten yourselves in really big trouble" he said, grabbing Remus and Sirius by the arm and dragging them inside the Gryffindor common room. It was empty apart from Peter Pettigrew, James's old school-friend, who sat on a massive red armchair in front of a dying fire which bathed the room in an eerie, flickering light.

"S-sorry" Remus managed to get out between two huge yawns. "Do you know where our beds are? I'm tired to death."

"Yeah, follow me. Pete and I already made ourselves comfortable" he led the way up a spiral staircase and held the door open for the other boys. The dormitory was a circular room with four large four-poster beds, two of which already showed signs of heavy usage – the covers were ruffled, candy-wrappers were strewn over them and a large teddy-bear with a pink bow around its neck had its paw stuck under the mattress of the bed closest to Remus.

Instinctively he made for the one bed yet untouched that had no window next to it. He threw off his shoes and climbed under the covers without bothering to undress. He tried to pull his blanket over his shoulders when he realised a slight resistance and sat up to find Sirius's puppy there, curled up into a very small and very fluffy ball.

"Sirius! Your dog is on my bed!" he whined sleepily.

"What does that have to do with me?" he got for an answer.

"Make it get off!"

"Do it yourself."

"It's your dog! Give it some kind of command or something."

"Anu, get off the grumpy git's bed or he'll never shut up."

The dog glanced up when it heard its name, yawned hugely which made its tiny pointed teeth visible and curled up again.

"Anu? What a stupid name is that?" James butted in, busy plucking the candy wrappers off his covers.

"It's short for Anduríl. And what kind of a stupid name is 'Potter'? Makes me wanting to go looking for the loo" Sirius retorted.

"It's very pretty, Sirius" Peter said, not clarifying whether he meant the name or the dog itself and probably meaning both. He moved closer to Remus's bed to pet Anu. "Where did you get it? Oh, and it's so tiny! How old is it?"

"Got her from a friend last April. They told me she must be about 28 years old now."

"So you're a girl then" Peter crooned affectionately, feeding Anu the leg of a left-over chocolate frog.

"28 years?!" Remus cried in disbelief. "More like 28 _days_, don't you think?"

"No, no I'm actually pretty sure my friend said 28 _years _when he gave her to me" Sirius said in mock thoughtfulness.

"But how is that possible? Dogs don't live so long. And they don't stay so small for so long" he picked up the dog to examine it more closely, ignoring its attempts to lick his forehead and Peter's longing expression. "Just look at its – her – paws. They're huge! I've read many books about dogs because I've always wanted to have one. They all say that the size of a dog's paws match its actual body-size. So according to that Anu will be a giant one day- urgh!" he stopped there because Anu had finally managed to get close enough to his face to lick his mouth.

"You do realise that you are lying in a bed in a magic-school, do you? For your own sake, don't go speculating about the realms of possibility…"


	7. Hating Green

_**A/N:** Thanks to **Guinness **for the lovely review. It really made my day. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. This is where the boys' friendship starts to develop . Enjoy (and if you feel like leaving a tiny comment behind...you know how to. Love you for it)!_

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**Chapter 6 - Hating Green**

Remus still felt very tired when he followed James and Peter down to breakfast the next morning. He was so tired that he almost forgot to feel excited and nervous about his first day of school. He yearned for a nice cup of hot chocolate. The Great Hall was already packed with students when they entered and they found it hard to get good seats at the Gryffindor table. James struggled to get a place next to his friend Quigley and Peter and Remus struggled to keep up with him.

Professor McGonagall had started handing out time-tables to her students when suddenly a piercing shriek from above made Remus jump. He looked up in alarm to see a flock of owls swoop down from the enchanted ceiling – which showed a brilliant blue sky blotched with soft cumulus clouds. One of them, a large eagle-owl, landed on James's shoulder and dropped a large box with an attached letter on his lap. He stroked its head with his index-finger and let it nibble the end of his sausage before it took off again. Another owl delivered a book to Peter that looked very much like their Charms-schoolbook and judging by Peter's guilty expression he'd obviously forgotten to pack it.

Remus made a mental note to send his mother a letter after lessons, telling her all about his first day when he spotted a beautiful brown-feathered owl which circled above the Gryffindor table, emitting softly cries of distress. It was obviously looking for the recipient of its delivery – a silvery envelope, clutched tightly in its left claw. It noticed Remus staring at it and suddenly swooped down on him, dropping its letter on his toast and soaring off again as fast as its wings could carry it.

Remus picked up the letter and stared at it in bewilderment. It was addressed to Sirius Black. That was when he noticed that Sirius wasn't there. "Hey, have any of you seen Sirius today?" he asked James and Peter, the latter shaking his head vigorously.

"Nope. His bed was already empty when I got up and I didn't see him in the common room either. I thought he'd already gone for breakfast" James said, taking the time-table Professor McGonagall thrust at him.

"Well, I forgot my bag in the dormitory anyway. I'll see if I can find him" Remus said, who hadn't forgotten his bag at all.

He finished his breakfast and got up when suddenly someone bumped into him from behind and almost knocked him, face forward, into Peter's bowl of cereals.

"Oops, sorry! This time it was my fault" an embarrassed Lily Evans squealed, reaching out her hand to help him up.

* * *

Remus found Sirius on the floor of the empty common room ten minutes later. Apart from his pyjama shorts and his socks he was practically naked. He had his wand clutched in his right hand and waved it feverishly at something black in his left, muttering under his breath. Remus approached him hesitantly but he didn't even look up.

"Sirius, our first lesson is about to start. Maybe you should get dressed" he said cautiously and precisely at that moment the school bells rang.

"I'm sick today" Sirius said with a chocked voice and Remus realised with a sudden shock that he must be crying.

He got down on his knees and moved a little closer to see what Sirius was doing.

"I hate her!" he suddenly screamed, startling Remus badly. "Look at this!"

He thrust his dark school uniform at Remus, the green sleeves catching the bright light that streamed in from the window next to them. "I have nothing to _wear_!"

"Oh" Remus said, guessing what the furious wand-waving must have meant. "So you've tried to change your robes to black?"

"Not black, you idiot! I've tried to change them from Slytherin to Gryffindor!"

Remus just stared, not understanding what he meant. Sirius rolled his eyes and pointed at Remus's chest. "Look" he grumbled.

And that was the first time Remus realised that his boring plain first-year robes had changed completely. The sleeves and lining were no longer black but scarlet and even the coat of arms on his left side had changed from a capital H to a golden G which was embraced by a prancing golden lion.

"Oh" he said again. "When did that happen?"

"Right after sorting. Didn't you notice?"

"No, I haven't. But haven't yours changed then?"

"Obviously not, since I already had my damn _Slytherin_-robes. The coloured one's you get to buy are actually only for older students who've outgrown their clothes. It wouldn't make sense to put the enchantment on them, would it?"

"Didn't you know that? I almost wanted to buy one of the coloured robes myself because the black ones looked dead boring. But since it said plain black robes on the list people wouldn't let me."

"Lucky you!" Sirius scoffed. "My mother ordered our house-elf to get exactly those robes for me. I wasn't even asked. I have been expected to get sorted into Slytherin anyway, so why bother." His voice was very bitter and angry tears were visible in the corner of his eyes. He turned his head to hide them from view.

Remus felt a wave of pity and he thought hard what he could do to make Sirius feel better as suddenly little Anu turned up from behind an armchair, trotted over to where Sirius's school-robes lay strewn on the floor, lifted her leg and peed on them. After she had finished, she sat down, looked at her master – tongue lolling out – and wagged her tail.

Sirius just stared at her for a moment, then said with a crooked smile "That's the spirit, Anu."

"I thought you said Anu was a girl?" Remus said confusedly.

"So I did."

"But she just lifted her leg! Female dogs aren't supposed to do that. I know that because-"

"-you've read a lot of books about dogs" Sirius said automatically. "Yeah, I know. But Anu is a little different, as we've already ascertained last night."

The Fat Lady swung open at that moment and James came wriggling through the portrait hole. He strode over to where Sirius and Remus were sitting on the floor and dropped a heavy book, bound in pink, glittering leather, onto Sirius's lap. Sirius looked at it as though it was something slimy and foul smelling and cocked an eyebrow. Remus caught a glimpse of the title which read _Every Girl Loves Fashion – A Beginner's Guide_ by Jacqueline du Poulin

"Do you have something to tell us, mate? Have they placed you in the wrong dormitory?" Sirius asked James concernedly, his head cocked to one side, eyebrow still raised.

James gave him a smack on the head. "Actually, I got that for you" he said in a dignified voice.

"In case you didn't notice, I'm a guy!" Sirius said indignantly, pointing at his naked chest.

"James, why are you not in class?" Remus disrupted the pointless half-argument.

"Can't see you there either, Remus m' boy" James said cheerfully, clapping him on the back. "If you must know, on my way to Transfiguration I happened to walk past the library and that book over there" he pointed at the glittering pink volume Sirius was just opening gingerly, "practically sprang at me. I thought he might like it" he pointed at Sirius himself.

"You happened to walk past the library on your way to Transfiguration?" Remus repeated in disbelief. "But the library is nowhere near the Transfiguration classroom, as far as I know. Did you get lost?"

"And what made you think I'd like a book about little skirts and make-up?"

"There is a large chapter about colour charms in it, page 569" James sighed in exasperation. "Unless of course you like displaying your bare chest like an overgrown monkey".

"And why not? Is there something wrong with my bare chest? Do I make you uncomfortable, Potter?" Sirius said innocently, fluttering his eyelashes at James.

"Git."

"You know, you could have said something. You could have borrowed one of my robes until you got the chance to buy the right ones" Remus said in a low voice, trying hard to block out the image of Professor McGonagall skinning them alive for ditching her class.

Sirius cocked the other eyebrow and pointedly looked at Remus who was almost a head shorter and distinctly leaner than him. Remus, who noticed, blushed slightly and mumbled "Well, I mean…"

The Fat Lady swung open again and in came Peter Pettigrew, panting heavily. Anu yelped and ran over to him, tail wagging madly. She got up on her hind legs and tried to get to a large package Peter was carrying in his arms, which smelled strongly of fried breakfast bacon and sausages.

"Anyone hungry?" he asked guiltily, stroking Anu's head.

* * *

Fixing Sirius's robes took them the whole morning, especially since they had to clean them first because of Anu's display of solidarity with her master. The bells rang, announcing the lunch break, when they were finally satisfied. Only by taking a very close look one could see that the Gryffindor-lion had its tongue poking out, just like the Slytherin-snake before it.

Sirius whistled happily, leading the way down to the Great Hall when suddenly a blond girl – a white-blond boy in tow – caught up with him from behind and blocked his path. Remus recognised the boy as the one who'd knocked him over in Diagon Alley.

"Can you explain to me what happened last night?" the girl asked Sirius icily, without an introduction.

"Oh, hello Narcissa" Sirius said in a strained voice, shrinking against the wall and hating himself for it.

"Well, I just thought I let you know that I wrote a letter to your parents first thing after the feast last night, explaining your situation-"

"You did _what_?!" Sirius yelled in disbelief.

"Mind that tone of yours, Black" the white-blond boy snapped, stepping in front of Narcissa.

"Mind your own business, Malfoy" Sirius said, his voice far braver than he actually felt. He knew Lucius Malfoy ever since he'd been a very small child and he still gave him the creeps.

"'s there a problem?" James Potter said casually, peeking out from behind Sirius's back. A quick glance behind him told Sirius that Remus and Peter too had taken up position right by his side. He felt his courage rise and his temper along with it.

"Get the hell out of my way, Malfoy, or I'll make you" he said, eyes glittering dangerously.

"Never mind, Lucius" Narcissa said, grabbing Malfoy by the arm and dragging him off. Looking back over her shoulder she said "Watch out for owls, cousin. Your parent's reply should be on its way as we speak."

Sirius scowled after them until they rounded a corner and vanished from sight.

"So good to have a large family" James commented dryly.

"Err, Sirius? I totally forgot to tell you but…well, an owl dropped that on my breakfast this morning and I really meant to give it to you…" Remus said guiltily, pulling a silvery envelope from his pocket and handing it to him.

"Damn, they're fast" Sirius said grumpily, taking the letter and ripping it open. He scanned it briefly, his face unreadable, then crumpled it up and tossed it back at Remus. "Go ahead, read it. Or use it as toilet paper, I don't care." He crammed his fists into his pockets and marched off, resuming his whistling – very off key.

Remus just stood there, uncertain what to do with the crumpled letter, when James snatched it out of his hand, smoothed it out and read in a low voice:

Son,

Your cousin Narcissa just informed us about what happened at the Sorting Ceremony. Don't worry, I have already made arrangements to speak to the headmaster about the matter. There has clearly been a severe misunderstanding. You won't have to stay with mudbloods and blood traitors for much longer. Turn to Narcissa when you need help.

Father

PS: Your mother wants me to tell you not to touch anything in the dormitory or common room in the meantime. One never knows and clearly you don't want to risk an infection. 

"Charming" James remarked. "Why don't we put that where it belongs" and he threw the letter into a dust bin which stood at the wall.

They followed Sirius around the corner and promptly ran into Professor McGonagall who already had Sirius by the ear, her face resembling that of a blood-hungry manticore.

* * *

James happily pointed out, for about the hundredth time – that they must have set a new school record for having landed themselves in detention before the school year had even properly started. Unfortunately that did little to improve his fellow convicts' spirits.

Sirius was still extremely bad tempered because of the fight he'd had with his father yesterday. Mr Black had actually kept his promise to speak to the headmaster about re-sorting his son into Slytherin-house but Sirius had managed to head him off before he got the chance. The argument that had broken out after Sirius had tried to explain to his father, that he was exactly where he wanted to be, was so loud and ferocious that a large crowd of people had assembled around them to watch. The Howler his mother had sent him that night didn't help the matter even though Sirius made an almost convincing show of being chuffed about it, waving the shrieking red envelope in his hand as though it was a lottery-ticket that had just won him the pot.

Peter on the other hand was extremely annoyed with Remus because he'd somehow miraculously managed to avoid having detention with them. He'd told them a likely story about having forgotten his scales and therefore needing to get home to look for them before their first Potions lesson the day after tomorrow. Peter was still fuming that Professor McGonagall had obviously bought that story and only made Remus write lines instead of cleaning out the cages in the Transfiguration classroom with James, Sirius and himself.

James couldn't bring himself to moping with the other two boys. He didn't even mind having to clean the dirty cages because of all the fascinating creatures that were living inside. There were, for example, a squirrel that had its tail transformed into a beautiful Asian fan, a monkey that had its body changed into a guitar, playing itself out of boredom, and a snake that switched into a long, rather knobbly walking stick and back with every heartbeat, making James, who was watching it with round eyes, feel slightly dizzy.

He had to admit that he was rather sorry to leave the classroom that night after they had been cleaning for about four hours. Peter shot him a malevolent look when he told him that he wouldn't mind detention if it was always that enjoyable.

They found Remus curled up in one of the huge red armchairs by the fire in the Gryffindor common room. James bounced over to him, meaning to tell him all about the incredible creatures he'd seen that day, but stopped dead when his gaze fell on Remus's face.

"Merlin, what happened to you" Sirius said in a shocked voice.

There was a long, blood-red gash across Remus's nose, he had a glorious black eye and his right hand was in thick bandages. He was even paler than usual and the dark circles under his eyes made him look like something out of a horror film.

Remus looked at them, smiling weakly. "I found my scales. Mum had them with her kitchenware" he informed them, his voice sounding incredibly hoarse and brittle.

"Did you have to fight her for them" Peter said in disbelief.

Remus's weak smile split into a wide grin for a moment, but it obviously caused him pain because he flinched and rearranged his face into a more relaxed expression.


	8. The Terror Starts

_**A/N:** Hello again and welcome to the next chapter. I'm afraid this one is rather short. Thanks a lot to Kayla for her beautiful review and to Guinness for beta-ing this chapter. Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 7 – The Terror Starts**

The first few weeks of school went by in a flash and Remus felt happier than he had ever felt in his life. The classes were extremely interesting, people didn't avoid him as they used to in his old school and for the first time in a long time he had friends, true, great friends.

There was only one dark cloud on the horizon.

Remus was extremely anxious that his friends might figure out his secret. Not only would that mean losing them for sure but also facing expulsion from Hogwarts, for Remus could see no way of being allowed to stay at school once everybody knew. The headmaster knew, of course, and even some of the staff. To tell the truth, Remus was still puzzling over the fact that Professor Dumbledore seemed to have no problem with his condition.

He found it very hard to make up stories to explain not only his regular absences but also the injuries he bore afterwards, that were plausible enough to satisfy Sirius – even though he put all his effort and imagination into them. Luckily, James and Peter weren't so hard to convince. True, they were just as shocked to see all his bruises and cuts, but they'd probably seen Remus stumble over his own feet or bumping into other students too often not to believe his lame tales about having fallen down the stairs.

But Sirius wasn't deceived that easily.

All through Defence Against the Dark Arts Remus felt Sirius staring at the bandage around his head – a souvenir from the day before yesterday. This time, Remus had told his friends that his mother was ill and that he had to go check on her, hitting his head badly on the mantelpiece when he'd been climbing out of the fireplace that had taken him home via Floo-powder. Sirius's staring actually irritated Remus so much that he gave Professor Lollop – who insisted on being called May – the wrong answer when she asked him to tell her how to recognise a werewolf.

That day he skipped lunch and took refuge in the library, hiding from his friends behind a huge stack of books that waited to be sorted back onto their shelves by the librarian, Madame Pince, trying hard to ignore his rumbling stomach.

He was late on purpose for their next lesson – Potions, which was the only subject the Gryffindors had with the Slytherins – so as to avoid having to sit with Sirius, James and Peter, who already had their cauldron up at a table at the front of the classroom, a fire crackling merrily underneath it. He mumbled a hasty apology to Professor Slughorn and slid wordlessly into the only unoccupied place which happened to be next to Lily Evans and a Slytherin-boy with dark, greasy hair – Severus Snape – who shot him a malevolent look.

"Hi Remus" Lily said smiling, moving her book and notes aside to make space for him.

"Hi Lily" he muttered, trying to ignore Peter who had turned around in his seat and was looking at Remus questioningly.

Today's potion was very complicated which gave Remus an opportunity to take his mind off his worries. He busied himself cutting up bat-wings and slicing thick, juicy shrivelfigs, dutifully following Lily's instructions. He couldn't help noticing how good Lily and her greasy friend worked together. Their potion was the first to turn forget-me-not-blue and emit a high-pitched whistling as it was described in the textbook. Remus caught the annoyed look James threw them over his shoulder when Professor Slughorn's apprentice, Damocles Belby, came over to inspect their potion and award Gryffindor and Slytherin ten points each for their good work.

"Well done, well done indeed!" he cried happily, peering down into their cauldron over his rapidly fogging up glasses. "Good work, you three. Now, all you've got left to do is to add the sliced shrivelfigs and you're done."

Obediently, Remus slid the shrivelfigs into the slightly bubbling potion – which gave a nasty slurping sound, then belched loudly and emitted itself all over Remus, Lily and her Slytherin friend, burning holes into their robes and singing their hair. A foul smell started to spread and the whole class, shrieking hysterically, fled from the classroom.

Lily cowered against the heavy stonewall of the corridor, looking horrified at her arms which were now starting to throw vicious purple boils where the potion had made contact with her skin, whimpering silently. Remus was about to crouch down beside her to have a look at her injuries when he suddenly felt himself being yanked back by the scruff of his neck. He crashed onto his back, choking, and found himself face-to-face with a wand which pointed directly at his nose.

"Get the hell away from her" Severus Snape yelled furiously, holding the wand that pointed at Remus in his right hand, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"I-I'm sorry" Remus stammered, feeling embarrassed, confused and scared all at the same time. "I didn't mean to-"

"Shut up! You didn't mean to, eh? Don't make me laugh! You should have realised that adding sliced shrivelfigs to a Silencing Solution without squeezing them dry first would make the whole thing blow up."

Remus thought that this was very unfair. How was he supposed to know that? It certainly didn't say anything about that particular reaction in the textbook. He could tell, as he'd read the whole book during the summer. And Assistant-Professor Belby had told him to add the shrivelfigs, hadn't he?

Cautiously he pushed himself up on his elbows and opened his mouth to tell the livid boy so, when he realised with a shock that – shaking his greasy hair out of his eyes – Snape furiously swished his wand at him, yelling "Diffindo!"

"Expelliarmus!" someone cried at the exact same time and Remus saw the wand being wrenched out of his attacker's hand and flying through the air, landing some distance away with a soft clutter.

Breathless, he whipped his head around to see James standing some feet behind him, his own wand in his hand pointing at Snape's chest, a cold and controlled look on his face.

"Attacking a defenceless opponent isn't very heroic, don't you think?" Sirius said casually, standing next to James and cracking his knuckles playfully.

Peter meanwhile had rushed over to where Remus was lying on the floor to help him get to his feet. "You alright?" he asked him worriedly.

"'m fine" Remus mumbled, his face now positively glowing in embarrassment. He went to pick Snape's wand up from where it had landed and gave it to him. "Look" he said. "I really didn't mean for this to happen. I'm sorry, alright?"

Snape snatched his wand out of Remus's hands, glowered at him and his friends for a moment, then turned on his heel and went to help Lily get to the Hospital Wing.

The next morning, Remus was glad to see Lily sitting at the breakfast-table, talking animatedly with a fellow Gryffindor first-year, Wilhelmina Lochrin. He sat down next to James who, uncharacteristically, had his nose buried deep in today's newspaper – which he'd nicked from the teachers' table just to proof to Sirius that he could do it.

"Pass the marmalade, James" Sirius said, spreading butter on his toast.

Nothing happened.

"Oi, the marmalade, James!"

Still no reaction.

"Are you deaf, mate?" Sirius yelled, thrusting his buttered piece of toast at James's head.

"Hey! What was that for?" James cried irritably, finally resurfacing from his paper, wiping butter out of his black hair.

"Pass the marmalade, please" Sirius said innocently.

"Anything good in there?" Peter asked James curiously, trying to get a look at the headlines on the front page of the Daily Prophet.

James put the paper down, looking gravely at his friends – something that was even more uncharacteristic for him than reading a newspaper.

"Another family has been wiped out last night. They found that green skull-symbol with the snake hovering over the ruined house, just like last time."

Silence followed this statement. A silence that crept under Remus's skin and sent shivers down his spine.

"A whole family?" Peter breathed in disbelief, his eyes strangely unfocused.

"It happened _again_, you said?" Remus asked, shocked by this news.

"Was it that Voldy-thing again?" Sirius said grimly, his fists clenching on the tabletop.

"Lord Voldemort" James corrected him quietly. "Yes, it was him again. That must have been the forth time since July. That skull-symbol of his is proof enough, of course, but it says in here that he also left a writing claiming responsibility, obviously pinned to…pinned to one of the victims" he trailed off at the end, his face screwed up in a part furious, part pained and part revolted expression. It took him a moment to pull himself together before he could continue. "That _writing_ said something about his ambitions to rid the Wizarding World of scum and mud- I mean Muggle-borns. And apparently he described a way how people who are interested in his _philosophy_ can contact him…oh, yeah, look. They have a copy of the letter here on page 5…"

"_What_? The Prophet printed that?" Sirius cried in disbelief, wrenching the paper out of James's hands which caused it to rip in two.

A piece of the article landed right in front of Remus and he gazed at the black-and-white photograph of a happy looking couple, embracing a tiny girl with a large ribbon in her hair who had a teddy pressed to her chest. All three waved merrily at the camera. The caption read 'Claudia and Richard Smith and their three-year-old daughter Flora'.


	9. Halloween

_**A/N:** It appears to me that we keep finding ourselves in the Great Hall, having breakfast or dinner. A magical place, that one. Now, Halloween being practically a must when it comes to Harry Potter fiction, here goes..._

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**Chapter 8 – Halloween**

The first Quidditch-match of the season, Ravenclaw versus Slytherin, took place at the end of October. The air had already lost the warmth of summer, even though the sun was doing its best and shone so brightly that the players had to wear sunglasses to be able to avoid the Bludgers. Remus was shivering violently under his cloak, his teeth chattering, wishing desperately for a cup of hot chocolate as James bounced up and down beside him, excitedly explaining the rules of the game for him with the occasional help of Peter and Sirius, who had Anu sitting on his lap. With a small smile Remus acknowledged that James had obviously gotten over the shock of not having been admitted to the Gryffindor Quidditch team despite all his efforts and his friendship with the team captain Finbar Quigley. Thanks to Sirius, who had gleefully observed that Remus was a complete Quidditch-virgin (and promptly gone to crow that fact from every roof), James had bullied Remus into reading all kinds of Quidditch-related books and articles, quizzing him about them afterwards. Once he'd actually woken Remus in the dead of night to ask him, who'd won the world cup in 1409. Sirius had happily joined him in beating James up with his pillow.

Sitting there with his friends, his cheeks painted Ravenclaw-blue by Peter, Remus finally understood James's passion for the game. It was very hard not to get sucked into it as the chasers skilfully passed the Quaffle to each other, the keepers hovered tensely in front of their goal hoops, the beaters flung their clubs at the canon-ball like Bludgers with all their strength and the seekers darted across the pitch like arrows in search of the Golden Snitch. Remus thought that he could probably really enjoy the game if it weren't for the cold.

* * *

Halloween came in a flash – literally.

The thunderstorm that had sprung up last night had successfully kept Sirius from sleeping at all. Of course he would never admit it to any of his friends, but he was positively terrified of thunderstorms and the fact that he slept high up in a tower didn't particularly help the matter. Rain still pounded heavily against the windows when he got up at the break of dawn, dressed silently and tiptoed over to James's bed. He pulled the scarlet hangings open, carefully avoiding making any sound. He watched James for a moment, shaking his head in amusement at the sight of him being wrapped in his bed sheet like a straight jacket – James was a very active sleeper – his face completely at peace. Sirius cautiously reached out and grabbed hold of James's pillow and with a loud, bloodcurdling screech he pulled it out from under his head.

James jumped up, startled, and reflexively slapped Sirius hard in the face, who fell over and knocked his head on Peter's bed frame, who, in turn, fell out of his bed and started to scream something about James having stolen his secret supply of Butter Toffee at the top of his voice. Anu bounced happily around the room, thinking this was all a game, playfully biting Peter's toe.

A few moments of very confused yelling and screaming later, in which all of them got bitten by Anu at least once, Sirius was helping Peter to his feet, rubbing the back of his head, while James tried to catch Anu who had his teddy by the neck.

"What did you have to slap me for, you twit?" Sirius whined, chucking an abandoned sock at James who chose to answer by throwing him a very dirty look.

"Much as I hate to miss the sunrise, Sirius, I'd prefer a gentler rousing next time, please" Peter yawned, collecting his pillow and blanket from the floor and throwing them onto his bed.

A soft knock on the door made them all look up in surprise. It gave a very soft creak as it opened to reveal Remus standing in the doorframe, fully dressed, his red and gold Gryffindor scarf wound around his neck and the lower half of his face.

"Sorry" he said in a muffled voice. "I hope I didn't wake you up." His gaze fell on the chaos they'd managed to produce a few minutes ago and Sirius could see his eyes twinkle, assuming that he must smile underneath the scarf.

"Where've you been?" James asked sternly, as Remus made his way around the slaughtered teddy to his own bed, sitting down on his covers and slowly pulling off his shoes.

"Me? Home. I told you my mum was ill, didn't I?" he answered shortly, avoiding their eyes.

"Yeah, you did alright. But you conveniently forgot to mention when you'd be back" Sirius said sharply, checking his friend's appearance, half expecting to find a limb missing this time.

"So how is she?" Peter asked, sitting down on his own bed, looking at Remus in concern.

"How is who?" Remus asked distractedly, continuously shooting Sirius furtive looks.

"Your mother" Sirius said icily, his cold gaze fixing Remus's.

"Better, I guess" he muttered, the half of his face that was visible reddening somewhat. "Now, if you excuse me? I've been up all night. I need to catch on some sleep before the feast tonight."

Without another word he pulled his hangings shut and disappeared from view, not bothering to undress.

* * *

Remus joined them in the common room late that afternoon, a book tucked under his arm and a large chocolate bar dangling from his mouth by its wrapper. He flopped down on one of the large armchairs next to where Sirius, Peter and James sat on the floor, playing a heated game of exploding snap. Sirius noted, with a disgruntled look at him, that he had his collar closed up to the top, his scarf still wound rather tightly around his neck.

"I think I might have caught a cold" Remus answered his unspoken question, hiding his face behind _Alice in Wonderland_.

"It's a shame you missed Defence Against the Dark Arts yesterday, Remus" Peter said, holding out his hand to receive a chunk of Remus's chocolate. "We did Boggarts as a Halloween treat. Know what they are, them Boggarts? They can-"

"-change into the worst fear of whoever stands before it. Their true shape is unknown and they prefer to live in deserted furniture." Remus recited, stifling a yawn. Sirius had to admit that his voice really did sound extremely hoarse, even more that usual.

"Oh" Peter said, somewhat putout. "Of course you know."

Sirius grinned to himself, stroking Anu who lay on her back between his outstretched legs. Remus and his books. Why he bothered with them, Sirius really couldn't guess. Remus was a good student, almost as good as himself or James. But then again, magic came to Sirius naturally, almost like breathing. He didn't have to think about it, much less read about it in some old books. Maybe it had something to do with being a Purebloo-

Sirius flinched so badly that Anu jumped in surprise. He couldn't believe what he had just been about to think. As if blood had anything to do with…_anything_! Just look at Peter, for example. Peter was a Pureblood Wizard, just like himself, and Sirius was sure that Peter wouldn't even know which way to hold his wand if it wasn't thicker on one side. Yes, he could totally see the point of books and studying when he looked at Peter. That boy really could use all the help he could get.

He looked up to see four pairs of eyes looking at him, all wearing different expressions: James looked amused, Peter curious, Remus concerned and Anu expectant. He shrugged the awkward moment off with a grin and leaned back on the armchair Remus was sitting in, his chocolate halfway to his mouth. Sirius fixed Anu with an intent stare, willing her to read his thoughts. Anu looked back at him, her head tilted to one side, one ear erect. She gave a short bark that sounded like a "Got it" and hopped onto Remus's chest, snatched the chocolate out of his hand and jumped off again, dropping the candy onto Sirius's lap.

"Hey!" Remus howled as Sirius popped a large piece of chocolate into his mouth, smiling hugely to himself.

Peter, laughing shamelessly, now held out his hand to Sirius. "Nope," Sirius said, shaking his head dramatically. "All mine now."

"Anyway" Peter said, staring longingly at the chocolate Sirius was now feeding Anu with. "You missed a really good lesson yesterday, Remus."

"Yeah. Highly entertaining" James said tartly.

"What's with him?" Remus asked over the top of his book.

"He's just sulking because everybody laughed at his Boggart" Sirius said offhandedly, stroking Anu behind her ears.

"Yeah" Peter sniggered, his enthusiasm flaming up again. "It was brilliant. You'll never guess what James's greatest fear is-" his laughs were muffled by the hand James was pressing to his mouth to make him shut up.

"It was a cabbage" Sirius said, grinning wickedly.

* * *

They proceeded down the marble staircase that led to the Great Hall at sundown, still talking animatedly about the memorable Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Peter pompously recounted over and over again how he had successfully managed to fight off his Boggart – which had resumed the shape of a circus clown – by making its red nose elongate, causing it to trip over it. Thankfully he didn't realise that James and Sirius were laughing more about the fact that Peter was afraid of clowns in the first place.

Remus trudged behind them in complete silence, anxious not to let them see him limping slightly, for he had broken his leg last night and although the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey, had mended it in no time, it was still very sore. The scarf was still in place too, concealing the three vicious gashes that ran from his jaw all the way down to his collarbone.

"…and Sirius fancies May, did you realise, Remus?" Peter said suddenly, elbowing Remus playfully in the ribs. Remus gasped in pain as Peter's elbow hit an enormous bruise he had there.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you" Peter said shocked, clasping his hands over his mouth.

"I just bit my lip. Really, it's nothing" he said, forcing a smile.

He felt his friends' gazes in his back as he slipped past them and entered the Great Hall, hardly noticing the festive decoration and the huge cloud of bats that soared over the house-tables. They still stared at him suspiciously as they'd found themselves empty seats.

"So, you fancy Professor Lollop, Sirius?" he said in a brave attempt to make conversation.

"Oh, he totally does" Peter guffawed, happily jumping on the train of thought. "Stares at her all the time and yesterday I caught him doodling her name all over the front page of his textbook."

"I did not" Sirius said indignantly, kicking Peter in the shins under the table.

Remus couldn't blame him. Professor Lollop – May – was hardly older than themselves, clearly freshly out of school. She had a very pretty round face and eyes the colour of a mountain stream – no, blue, her eyes were blue. She always wore jeans and t-shirts with all kinds of different Muggle rock bands on them. There was always a braided pink bracelet around her wrist and she usually wore her hair in a ponytail. It had the colour of a cornfield at the end of summer – no, her hair was blond! Remus gave himself a mental slap around the head to pull himself together. And just in time!

The festively decorated table suddenly groaned with the weight of heaps of grilled chicken and mounds of baked potatoes, piles of roast beef and pyramids of crisp, fuming rolls that appeared practically out of thin air. It was only when he smelled the mouth watering odour of lasagne, one of his favourite dishes, that Remus realised how hungry he was and he piled his plate with a bit of almost everything he could reach, avoiding steak tartar though.

Meanwhile the conversation got back to the starting point. James told Remus approvingly, over a mouthful of corned beef, how well Lily Evans had dealt with her Boggart – an enormous demon with goat-like horns sticking out of its head, flaming red skin, a viciously swishing tail and a hoof instead of its right foot, clad in nothing more than a filthy, furry loincloth.

"I wish Remus would have been there, yesterday" Remus overheard Peter saying to Sirius, who had his wand out, changing his spinach from green to red. "Wonder what his Boggart would have looked like, don't you?"

Sirius didn't answer but merely looked at Remus ponderingly, who hastily busied himself with his lasagne.

The large wooden doors of the Great Hall suddenly creaked open and Remus looked up curiously, along with almost everyone else. Silence fell as a hunchbacked figure in a long, dirty cloak limped in, his face hidden beneath his hood. For a moment the hunchback just stood there, his gaze travelling over each of the house-tables in turn, before he trudged down the narrow aisle between the Ravenclaw and the Hufflepuff table towards the teachers table. As he approached Professor Dumbledore, who looked at him enquiringly over his half-moon spectacles, he bowed low and then started to whisper in his ear.

A yelp, a small cry of pain and a curse pulled Remus's attention away from the cloaked figure.

"That's what you get for not obeying the rules, mate" James said, snickering. "You know you aren't supposed to bring Anu to dinner."

Sirius glowered at him, his index finger in his mouth, trying to push Anu's head back under the table. "She bit me! That ungrateful, insatiable brat" he hissed.

"Oh, poor girl" Peter crooned.

"Poor girl?" Sirius spluttered incredulously. "Look at what she did to my finger!" he held it under Peter's nose. There were two tiny red dots, marking the spot.

"Yeah, she almost chewed your arm off there" James laughed.

"Looks like a vampire bite, don't you think?" Sirius said, his head cocked to one side, an eyebrow raised.

"Poor girl" Peter repeated affectionately. "You must be starving" and he speared his half-finished piece of chicken on his fork and passed it to Anu, who almost swallowed it whole.

"Err, Sirius?" Remus said hesitantly. "You don't happen to know that guy who was just talking to Professor Dumbledore, do you?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, because he's standing right behind you!"


	10. Béarra and Iona

_**A/N:** Sorry for the long break. On with the story then..._

* * *

**Chapter 9 – Béarra and Iona**

Sirius's head whipped around so fast that Anu almost fell off his lap.

"It's good to see you again, my friend," a gentle voice said from under the hood. It reminded Remus of the rustling of leaves in a soft spring breeze. But it sounded unbelievably exhausted, too. "And it's good to see you too, Anduríl."

Remus goggled at the cloaked figure in unmasked curiosity, as did James and Peter and everyone else in the vicinity.

"B-Béarra?" Sirius spluttered in disbelief. The fork he'd been in the process of putting to his mouth fell back onto his plate with a clatter, scattering beans everywhere.

"Oh, pardon me," the stranger said, finally pulling off his hood. "I suppose my appearance had you wondering."

Remus was completely dumbfounded. He had expected an old and wrinkled man under the cloak but instead a young boy appeared from under the hood. He had to be no more than a few years older than Remus himself, maybe 15 or 16. He had rather dark skin and long, sleek hair the life-giving colour of wet earth which shone in the candlelight and fell down beneath his collarbone. His face looked terribly worn out but his eyes twinkled happily as he watched Sirius who had a hard time getting his face back under control.

"Would you mind if I sat down for a moment?" the boy asked politely, his exhaustion thick in his voice. He pointed at the space between Sirius and Peter. They hastily scooted aside, Sirius still looking rather stunned. The boy – Béarra – took off his tattered cloak and threw it carelessly under the table.

Remus gaped.

A girl had appeared on Béarra's shoulders, right where the cloak had been a moment ago. She was tiny, probably not older than two years. She had very fair skin and her long, curly hair was so light that it looked utterly colourless. She was fast asleep. Remus had no idea how she managed to stay on Béarra's back but he understood now why the boy had been hunchbacked before.

Béarra carefully pulled the sleeping girl off his back and cradled her in his arms as he sat down between Peter and Sirius. He looked at her softly and somewhat protectively.

"Is that Iona?" Sirius asked him, looking at the girl too. "Merlin, she's grown!" Béarra nodded slightly and suppressed a yawn. Remus waited for Sirius to introduce the two strangers but he was too busy piling food onto his empty plate and setting it in front of his friend who gave him a grateful smile before tucking in.

* * *

Considering the state Béarra and the little girl had been in at the Halloween feast, Sirius had decided to give them a good night's rest before questioning his friend more closely. Professor McGonagall had been so kind to transfigure Sirius's bedside table into a comfortable camp bed big enough for both, the boy and the little girl, and they slept noiselessly through the night and a good part of the next morning. Remus, James and Peter agreed to go down to breakfast to bring some food back for everyone. When they returned to their dormitory however, heavily laden with all sorts of snacks, they found it completely empty. James led the way back down to the common room, fuming with rage. Remus had noticed before that James was rather curious. He could imagine how it made him feel to have a real mystery right under his nose he wasn't allowed to stick said body part into.

Lily Evans sat at a table next to a high arched window that faced the Great Lake, poring over a long role of parchment and her History of Magic textbook. She looked up as she saw them entering the common room and smiled slightly as she noticed James's expression.

"I suppose you're looking for Sirius Black?" she enquired, putting her quill down.

"'s a matter of fact, we are," James answered grumpily.

"You don't happen to know where he went, Lily?" Remus asked hopefully, throwing her an apologetic look.

"Oh, I do. He's down by the lake with that friend of his," she said, pointing at the window next to her.

Peter scuttled over to have a look and nodded vigorously. "He's there alright," he confirmed.

Lily joined them as they hurried down the marble staircase and along the grounds to the shore. They found Sirius sitting on a moss-covered boulder by the Great Lake, watching his friend Béarra who had his back turned on him, standing knee-deep in the dark water. Remus shivered involuntarily at the thought of the temperature the water must have – it was November after all.

"Git," James hissed at Sirius, dropping the food packet he'd been carrying on the ground. Sirius looked up confusedly. "You could have waited for us, couldn't you?" James said in answer to his puzzled expression.

"Waited? Oh, right. Sorry, I totally forgot about you," Sirius said apologetically, turning his gaze back on Béarra. James looked fit to hex him on the spot but Sirius got rescued by Peter.

"So, did you get any answers out of him yet?" he asked curiously, flopping down beside Sirius and helping himself to a large blueberry muffin from his own packet of food.

"No. He's just been standing there like this for ages."

"Sirius," Remus said hesitantly, joining Peter on the ground, "who is he?"

"An old friend of mine," Sirius said thoughtfully, gaze still fixed on the back of his friend. "Well, maybe not so old. I've just met him last spring. My uncle Alphard took me on one of his expeditions. He's really into magical legends and stuff, you know. He's the one I have Anu from," he added as an afterthought.

"Who? Your uncle?" Peter asked.

"No. Him," Sirius said, jerking his head in the direction of Béarra who was still standing in the lake, completely motionless.

"Right, I think you mentioned that," Peter said, offering Sirius a ham sandwich.

"Where is Anu anyway," James asked, still in a rather bad mood.

"She's showing Iona around."

"Iona? Is that the little girl with the white hair? You're saying that the dog is showing the little girl around?" Lily piped up incredulously, gaping at Sirius.

"Why not? She knows the grounds pretty well by now," Sirius shrugged. Lily looked as though she wanted to say something but thought better of it. She merely shook her head.

Béarra finally emerged from the lake, looking very refreshed and smiling slightly. He picked up a pair of boots from where he must have dropped them before and wandered over to them, feet bare.

"Your water is very nice, Sirius. You should come with me next time," he said, nodding his greetings to the small group that had assembled around the boulder Sirius was sitting on. His voice was very soft and melodious and he spoke with the hint of an accent Remus couldn't quite place.

Remus noticed that Béarra's eyes had a very peculiar colour – like very young leaves through which the evening sun shone. He too became aware of his rather strange clothing – even by wizarding standards. Béarra wore a thin jacket with a high collar which was pearly white and delicately fabricated. His boots, which he was still carrying, were made of fair and very soft leather and had a subtle but exceptionally beautiful stitching at the brim. Remus could make out a round earring with a hole in its centre that dangled off Béarra's left ear. But the most unusual of his articles of clothing was a leather belt that very much resembled a tool belt Muggle craftsmen usually wore. It was almost black and the square pouch that hung off it was strapped to Béarra's right thigh. Remus could see all kinds of different items inside: a handful of white feathers, some dry leaves and a few glass phials.

Béarra stretched, yawned and pulled a tiny wooden flute out of his strange belt. He put it to his lips and started to play a strange little tune. Remus listened, transfixed, and soon found himself floating away on the melody that seemed to tell him about the mighty sea, about waves that crushed rhythmically against high, rough cliffs and the breeze that playfully urged them on. He had to blink a few times before he remembered where he was, as something small and soft rushed past his right leg, barking happily.

It was Anu, little white-haired Iona in tow. The dog jumped up at Béarra's leg, wagging her tail madly, dancing on her hind legs. The girl clapped her hands joyfully, pirouetting around the boy and the excited dog. It was very strange, but Anu's outline seemed to flicker and blur along with the rhythm of the tune.

The song ended much too soon for Remus's liking as Béarra put his flute back into his belt-pocket, picked up the little girl and sat down on a weathered log close to Sirius's rock. He stroked Anu's head tenderly and smiled at her before he looked up and faced the small group of people who were all watching him intently.

"I believe Sirius has told you all who I am?" he asked, his eyes alight with amusement.

"Yes," Peter said at exactly the same time as James and Remus vehemently said "No".

Béarra looked at Sirius, an eyebrow raised, grinning broadly. "Then let me do the honour," he said. "My name is Béarra Ó Lir. This," he indicated the white-haired girl on his lap, "is my little sister Iona."

"Your sister?" Lily said incredulously. "But she – I don't mean to be rude or anything, but she looks nothing like you," she blushed at that and bit her lower lip in embarrassment.

Béarra chuckled. "You're very perceptive," he said mockingly. "But you're right. Iona comes more after her mother while I resemble my own mother. At least that's what our father used to say."

"She's your half-sister then?" Peter noted unnecessarily. Béarra merely smiled at him.

"What are you doing here, Béarra?" Sirius asked calmly. He had his gaze fixed on his friend and he wasn't smiling.

"That's rude," Béarra said airily. "Can't I just visit an old friend of mine?"

Remus looked back at Sirius who was still observing his friend closely. A frown had appeared on his face. "Much as I am honoured, I don't believe for one second that this is merely a goodwill visit," he said sharply. "For one thing, I can't see why you brought your baby sister along. What did her mother say to that? Your island is some thousand miles away, Béarra. And how did you get here? Judging by the state you've been in yesterday I'm tempted to say you came by foot…" he paused there because he'd noticed the guilty look that had suddenly crept onto Béarra's face who realised that with a start and instantly rearranged his expression into a more innocent one. "Don't think I'm stupid," Sirius said, his voice icy, eyes glittering dangerously, "because I'm not!"

The silence that followed this statement rang in the air. Remus suddenly felt very uncomfortable under the glare Sirius directed forcefully at Béarra. It was the same look he usually gave Remus when he caught him at a lie.

Béarra appeared not to notice though. He pulled a long, snow-white feather out of his belt-pouch and toyed with it. He ran it through his fingers and tickled Iona under the chin with it. He held out the palm of his hand and let her place the white feather on it.

And then something peculiar happened.

The feather quivered slightly for a moment, as though ruffled by a breeze. Remus felt a soft gust of wind rush past him and Béarra's earring started to whistle. The air seemed to materialize on Béarra's palm, taking on the shape of a tiny dancer. She curtseyed, the tips of her tiny feet barely touching the snowy feather. Some leaves which had fallen off the nearby oak got caught in the whirl of wind and quickly became part of the delicate figure that started to dance very gracefully, accompanied by the soft whistling made by Béarra's earring. After a minute or so the airy ballerina did a last pirouette on Béarra's thumb, curtseyed again and vanished, leaving nothing behind but thin air and a small heap of crumpled leaves.

Remus had to blink yet again to find his way back to the presence. Looking around, he realised that Béarra's magic clearly had had the same effect on everyone else. Even Sirius stared with a blank and almost dreamy expression, his earlier irritation evidently blown away.

"What was that?" Peter asked in amazement.

"That was beautiful, Béarra," Lily remarked, her face shining with delight. "What a wonderful piece of magic. I've never seen anything like it before."

"That's hardly surprising," Béarra said complacently, carefully putting the feather back into his pouch. Iona smiled up at him, snuggling closer to his chest.

"What's that supposed to mean?" James asked somewhat offend.

"Merely that your magic is very different from ours," Béarra said, smiling back at Iona.

"And how's that."

"It's just different. There's nothing to be offended at. There is no valuation implied, you see," he looked up to meet James's scowl. "Well, what I mean to say is that your magic is rather technical and standardised, don't you think? And that's a good thing," he added hastily. "Our magic is just more…natural. Magic in its purest form has a lot to do with the elements – you know, earth, wind, water and fire."

"Does it? With the elements? I thought magic comes out of the wand. Isn't that why wands are made of all that special wood? Oh, and what about the…the core-thingies…?" Peter spluttered.

"Core…thingies?" Béarra asked confusedly.

"He means the wand cores," James said superiorly. "Those are very magical items which are placed in the heart of each wand. Mine has a dragon heartstring for instance. But there are quite a few others as far as I know."

"Yes, but the wand isn't where the magic _comes_ from," Lily said, pulling out her own wand and examining it closely.

"It's not?"

"No, Peter," Remus said weakly. "The wand merely channels the magic within you. It says so in the first chapter of _Magical Theory._"

"Remus, only you actually read that book," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"I read it too," Lily said coolly, throwing Remus a small smile.

"Anyway, you _can_ do magic without a wand, only then it's rather erratic and uncontrollable. Like when a child does magic," James explained. Peter looked rather embarrassed and mumbled something incomprehensible.

"I wouldn't know anything about wands or dragon heartstrings," Béarra said, sounding slightly disgusted. "But it's true that magic needs to be channelled in order to be controlled. There are other ways of doing that, however." He reached into his belt-pocket again and pulled out another white feather. "With this," he held the feather up as though it were something sacred, "I can manipulate the air…"

"Yeah, so can I," James cut in lazily, smirking at Béarra but making sure all the while that Sirius was watching him, "I can make the air stink!"

Peter burst out laughing but Sirius merely smiled weakly. Everyone else, especially Lily, looked at James with a mixture of irritation and disgust.

"Just ignore him," Sirius told Béarra calmly, glancing sideways at James.

"You're strange, you know that?" Béarra asked James tentatively.

"Look who's talking," James shot back, glowering.

* * *

_**A/N:** So you've met Béarra and Iona. Hope you like 'em 'cause I certainly do. Heaps of chocolate for everyone who can tell me where I might have borrowed there names from (hint for you: it has something to do with geography. Ask Google ;-) _


	11. Bloody Worms

_**A/N:** Hello everybody! This chapter is more or less the translation of my first ever fanfiction _Blutige Würmer_, which I originally wrote in German. Naturally I adjusted it a little so that it fits the story. Oh, and I raised the rating of this story due to future events. I hope you don't mind. Read and enjoy._

* * *

**Chapter 11 – Bloody Worms**

Sirius was struggling to keep his mind on the Flutterby seedlings he was supposed to chop for his Silencing Solution. His mind was firmly set on Béarra and refused to be put somewhere else. The reason for his mysterious visit on which, despite his considerable efforts, he still hadn't managed to get more information still bothered him. Potions was easily Sirius's worst subject – apart from History of Magic of course, but who other than Remus took that subject seriously anyway – which meant that he actually had to put some effort into it to achieve the shiny marks he usually got in all his other lessons by doing – almost but not quite – nothing at all. Not that he really cared for school grades but the fact that Peter, who usually was the bottom of every class, was really good at Potions seemed to kindle his ambition. Being worse than Peter in any subject was simply unacceptable.

And, sure enough, Peter's potion was already turning a pale orange, just as the textbook described. Sirius groaned slightly and turned back to his own seedling shreds. Peter's knack for Potions bothered him more than he would like to admit to himself and that in itself bothered him even more which confused him profoundly and made his head spin which didn't help the matter in the slightest. He didn't like feeling superior to anyone but somehow he just couldn't help it.

A small cough from his right pulled him out of his thoughts and he turned his head to see Remus who was bending low over his cauldron which was obscured by a foul smelling grey cloud that hung over it like a bad omen. Assistant Professor Belby rushed over to help him and Sirius silently grinned to himself. Once again Remus lived up to his reputation as an abysmal potioneer. Sirius reflected on that. Odd really, how things were sometimes so different from what was expected. Remus was a hard worker and thus managed to get high marks in all his subjects – except Potions. Peter on the other hand was the exact opposite. Then again, Peter seemed to like to follow orders, which was essential in potion making.

Oh, and speaking of unfulfilled expectations, then of course there was the case of one Sirius Black, he thought proudly. Hadn't he himself lived proof to his own little theory by getting himself landed in Gryffindor rather than Slytherin which had been expected not only by his family? He looked up, ginning slightly, to find his gaze caught by balding Professor Slughorn who was sitting at the teacher's table, stuffing himself with crystallised pineapples. Slughorn was throwing him reproachful and almost longing looks which he found highly disconcerting and thus hastened to busy himself once more with his silently simmering potion. He checked the list of ingredients in his book to see what to do next.

…_add a quarter of a frog spleen (fresh, not dried or pickled), then stir counter clockwise while slowly counting to six, stir clockwise three times until the potions turns a pale orange, then add half a pound of flobberworms_…

Frog spleen? Ugh! No way!

"Oi, Peter!" he whispered as loud as he could without attracting any of the teachers' attentions. Peter looked up from his cauldron quizzically. "Wanna do me a big favour?" Sirius asked him, wearing his best puppy eyes and waving the spleen at Peter, spraying droplets of frog pee all over himself and Remus. Peter merely grinned at him, shaking his head gleefully.

A small "Oh!" sounded at that moment from behind his back and Sirius rolled his eyes. "What now, Remus? Cauldron meltdown?" he asked, turning lazily in his seat to face his friend.

"Merlin's beard!" he yelled at the sight of the bloodbath Remus had caused next to him. "What in heaven's name do you think you're doing," he thundered, watching in disbelief as Remus wrapped his bleeding left hand in his far too long sleeve. He must have cut himself while preparing his ingredients and, sure enough, there lay his knife, twinkling innocently in the dim dungeon light, right next to the pile of flobberworms he had been cutting which were now drenched in Remus's blood. Sirius had to fight back a wave of nausea at the thought of the state of the knife which had without a doubt been quartering a frog spleen before slicing the now bloody worms. Open mouthed, Sirius watched as Remus lifted his injured hand to scratch his nose, leaving a smear of blood on his pale skin. He still watched as he dropped his hand again to check today's notes – Sirius had until now failed to see the use of said notes ("Notes? Pah! Humbug!").

"Professor!" he said loudly, sticking his hand high in the air in a very uncharacteristic fashion. "Please allow me to accompany this complete _idiot_," he indicated Remus, who was looking at him confusedly, with a jerk of his thumb, "to the hospital wing because he's bleeding bloody everywhere!"

That said he grabbed Remus by the arm and dragged him out of the classroom, not waiting for Slughorn's or Belby's answer.

"Hey! What are you doing," Remus started to protest after he had been dragged down half of the corridor, shaking off Sirius's grip.

"What a stupid thing to ask."

"Fine. Then I'm sure you will excuse me," Remus said coldly, turning on the spot to walk straight back into the classroom they had just left together.

"Come on now, Remus," Sirius said hastily, hurrying to block Remus's way. "I saw that you hurt yourself. Let me get you to Madam Pomfrey. She'll patch you up in no time."

Remus merely stared at him with an unusual stubbornness. "Never mind," he said forcefully. "It's just a scratch. It will probably heal by itself. And now will you please let me through? I've got something on the fire, you know." He tried to force his way past Sirius.

Sirius seized the opportunity and grabbed Remus by the wrist of the injured hand. Remus flinched causing Sirius to yell "Ha-haa," in triumph. "Just a scratch, is it?"

But at that moment the long sleeve of Remus's robes slid down his arm which Sirius was holding up to reveal his naked skin and…scars – dozens, hundreds of scars. Old ones which were barely visible and new ones which wound themselves across his pale skin like bloody worms.

For a short moment both of them just looked at each other, equally shocked. Sirius felt the horror that must register in his eyes, the horror that was etched in every line of Remus's features. But then something in his friend's expression changed. So far Sirius had seen Remus's face thoughtful, smiling and gentle, always with a tiny hint of sadness. But now it showed something he had never seen there before, something that looked completely wrong there, something that gave his heart a painful pang and took his breath away.

It showed fury and…_hatred_!

Remus wrenched his arm free and jostled Sirius aside, disappearing – not inside the classroom but down the corridor. Sirius didn't see him vanish but he heard his footsteps fade away. He was still staring blankly at the spot where Remus's arm had been – the scarred, injured arm of his _friend_.

He was confused, shocked and appalled – not so much by the uncountable injuries he had just seen but rather by the look on his friend's face.

Yes, there had been fury and hatred, but that hadn't been all. The image became clearer the longer he thought about it. What he had seen was…_fear_!

* * *

Remus blindly stumbled up a flight of stairs and along a corridor he didn't recognise. He had no idea where he was going nor did he really care. His left hand was throbbing painfully but he ignored it, merely wrapping it a little tighter in his sleeve. His thoughts were racing so fast that he only managed to catch a glimpse of them every now and then. There was only one thing he knew for sure: he was going home tonight. No more Hogwarts, no more magic, no more friends, not anymore.

He suppressed a howl of misery that was trying to force its way out of his chest and got stuck in his throat instead, almost suffocating him. He slumped down against the wall, burying his face in his hands. He told himself over and over again that this could hardly come as a surprise. It had been a miracle that Dumbledore had accepted him to his school in the first place and hadn't he had a few wonderful months? It was really ungrateful and selfish to expect more, wasn't it? He bit his lip against the sudden burning sensation in the corners of his eyes, reminding himself that he was a Gryffindor after all.

A sudden cackle from above made him jump. He looked up to see Peeves the poltergeist bobbing in midair over his head, a large dustbin in his hands which he was obviously planning on upturning over his head. "Nasty firsty," he sang mockingly, "shouldn't you be in classy?" but at the sight of Remus's face he suddenly fell silent. The expression of complete misery, hopelessness and defeat seemed to be too much even for the uncontrollable poltergeist.

Remus seized this opportunity to get up as quickly as he could. He really preferred to be alone at the moment but he particularly didn't need the company of Peeves. As he turned the corner he could distinctly make out the sound of a dustbin being emptied in the middle of the corridor. For a short moment he thought what to do now. He decided on heading up to Gryffindor tower to pack his trunk before any of the others turned up in the dormitory. He didn't feel like answering any of the questions he'd seen in Sirius's eyes when he'd seen the scars on his arm. He didn't think he could come up with a satisfying explanation at the moment. But just then the school bells rang for today's final lesson, which meant that hordes of students would soon be making their way to their common rooms to drop off their schoolbags before dinner. Feeling a little panicky he tried to figure out where else he could go instead. And then he remembered that he still had his books and bag in the dungeons and he made up his mind to go there to collect them first. He could pack the rest while everyone else was at dinner. He waited in an empty classroom until he was absolutely sure that no more students would come running past before he made to find his way back down to the potions classroom. It took him a few detours and the assistance of the portrait of a small girl sitting on the back of a giant hippogriff to find it again and he hastily entered without bothering to knock, assuming that everyone was at dinner anyway. He hurried up to the table he had been working on with Sirius only to find it completely empty.

"Remus?" a voice came from behind him and he wheeled around so fast that he bumped into a chair and almost fell over. He managed to steady himself and looked up to find Assistant Professor Belby standing a few feet behind him, wearing a puzzled expression. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you at dinner?" he asked curiously.

"I…well, I forgot my schoolbag when Siri-…when I went to the hospital wing, so I came down here to pick it up," Remus stuttered, feeling his cheeks go red.

"But your friends have picked your belongings up for you, of course," Belby said in surprise. "Mr Black came in here to collect them right after the end of the lesson."

"Oh, of course he did," Remus mumbled, feeling his heart give an involuntary pang at the mention of Sirius's name. Had he already told James and Peter about his discovery? Very likely, he thought.

"How is your hand then?"

"Huh? What," Remus said distractedly, his mind on James's and Peter's possible reactions.

"Your hand, Remus. How is it? I believe you hurt yourself? Isn't that why you had to go to the hospital wing?"

"Oh, that. I'm fine. It was only a scratch. Nothing serious," he mustered up a little smile and a nod to bid Belby goodbye.

He turned around, his hand already on the door handle as Belby suddenly said, "I expect you are used to far worse injuries once a month, am I right?"

Remus froze. He felt his heart miss several beats and his mouth suddenly became very dry. It felt as though he had been struck by lightning. He swallowed hard. "I beg your pardon?" he said and was horrified at how thin and tremulous his voice sounded. He didn't think he could stand anymore surprised today. Feverishly he tried to remember what Dumbledore had told him last summer when they had discussed his school year and the necessary preparations for him at Potter Manor. Dumbledore had told him that, naturally, his future head of house and the school matron Madam Pomfrey would be in on the secret but apart from them, no one else.

"I think you know what I'm talking about," Belby said calmly and Remus could feel his gaze in his back. He wrenched himself out of his stupor and opened the door to escape into the corridor as he felt something warm graze his cheek and the door slammed shut again, locking itself. Remus's heart seemed to want to make up for the beats it had missed earlier and was now positively hammering against his ribcage. What was this all about? He thrust his uninjured hand in his pocket and fumbled for his wand but his hand was now so sweaty that the thin piece of wood kept slipping through his fingers.

"Please, don't be frightened," Belby said soothingly and Remus gave an involuntary shudder. "I'm a good friend of your father's and I want to help you…"

* * *

"You should have seen his face," Sirius was saying for what felt like the hundredth time. They were all huddled in a solitary corner in the library, Peter still munching on the corner of a chicken sandwich he had brought himself from dinner and smuggled in under the vigilant eyes of Madam Pince, the librarian. The reason why they were holding their secret meeting in the library was that this was the place Remus would least expect them to be and since he was the subject of their little gathering, they preferred not to be found by him.

"Yeah, you said so," James said annoyed. He hated keeping secrets from Remus seeing as he was one of their little gang and his friend. But, as he grudgingly had to admit, Remus was obviously keeping at least one big secret from the rest of them, so they were even.

"I just can't figure him out," Sirius stormed. "I thought I had, but I guess I was wrong."

"People aren't something you can open like a book and read in whenever you want," Peter said wisely but immediately shut up when he saw the look on Sirius's face.

"There's just something wrong with that kid," Sirius grumbled.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" James asked, firing up at once. "Are you trying to say that he is…what _are_ you trying to say?"

"Don't wet yourself, James," Sirius scoffed. "And don't tell me you haven't noticed yourself. All those injuries…"

"Yeah, well, I suppose that's because he can't walk a straight line without breaking his leg or cracking his skull. He's dead clumsy sometimes, in case you haven't noticed."

"And that's another odd thing about him. He can't walk a straight line without having at least a dozen accidents but during our flying lessons he was almost…"

"Graceful," Peter finished the sentence for him, earning himself a matching pair of disbelieving and slightly amused looks from both, Sirius and James.

"Never mind that now," Sirius growled. "And then he vanishes every now and then. Forgotten scales, sick mother, dying rabbit…James, you said your parents are friends with Remus's mother. Couldn't you ask them to check whether she's really ill all that time?"

"As a matter of fact, I already did that. You're not the only one with brains, you know?"

Sirius chose to ignore the last comment. "So? What did they say?"

"Well, they checked with Mrs Lupin but everything seems a little fuzzy if you ask me. She seems to have been ill but apparently she couldn't remember exactly when."

"That's curious. And I've noticed another thing. Remus has the worst injuries right after those trips home."

Thoughtful silence fell after this statement.

"Do you think…domestic violence?" Peter finally broke the silence, his voice sounding hesitant.

"It's a possibility we must consider," Sirius said curtly.

"No way! You don't know his mum but I do. She wouldn't hurt him, no way," James said forcefully.

"Maybe you're right, maybe you're not," Sirius said indifferently, shaking his head a little. "And what about his father? What do we know about him?"

"All I know is that he's been gone for almost six years now. He used to be one of my dad's best friends and they worked at the ministry together."

"He was a wizard then?" Peter asked.

"What if he was? What has that got to do with anything?" Sirius snapped. Peter chose not to reply, knowing how touchy Sirius could get on the subject of pure wizarding blood.

"Anyway," James shut him up soothingly, "his father hasn't been seen for years now. For all we know, he's probably dead."

"Why did he leave in the first place," Peter asked curiously.

"It happens, Pete, you know?" James said mockingly. "When a mummy and a daddy don't love each other no more…"

"Oh, shut up."

"I'd love to know what he's up to when he disappears," Sirius said thoughtfully, bringing the other two back to their original subject.

"Why don't you ask him if he takes you with him the next time?" James said, suppressing a yawn. It was evident that he didn't see a big mystery behind the matter.

"Yeah, right, thanks for nothing James. If only we had someone to follow him, to dog him where ever he goes…"

"Oh, don't you dare, Sirius! That would be treachery," James yelled hotly, forgetting for a moment that he was in a library.

But Sirius wasn't listening anymore. His eyes had lit up at the mention of the phrase _dog_ him.


End file.
